Legends of Olympus: The Olympian's Lyte
by xXCamJXx
Summary: Percy felt as though his life as a hero had finally come to an end. The 2 Camps were finally enjoying a period of peace and unity. But when a new prophecy emerges, speaking of the greatest power they have ever faced, Percy and Annabeth must not only bring the 7 back together to fight against primordial power, but must also go on a National Treasure- like quest, following clews left
1. Chapter 1: Thus it Begins

Capture the Flag. Percy Jackson loved many things, but this game was arguably his favorites.

"Percy, left!" Annabeth's voice brought him out of his daydream as he narrowly blocked a sword strike to his side. He blunt ended the poor kid, sending him sprawling. He flashed a quick smirk to Annabeth.

"Thanks, Wise Girl." Annabeth smiled a little at the comment, though she tried her best not to show it.

"Eyes on the prize, Seaweed Brain." she mock scolded as they fought their way through to their flag. The 2 were a well-oiled machine; having fought side-by-side since they were 12, both knew what the other was going to do before they did it, swinging and blocking and spinning in perfect unison. When they finally reached the flag, they both grabbed it at the same time, Annabeth raising an eyebrow at him.

"No way, Jackson. I get to take the flag this time." She insisted, Percy groaning.

"Oh, come on! I protected last time!" He complained, Annabeth smiling at him smugly

"I don't recall asking. Come on, let's get moving." She commanded, Percy sighing and charging ahead, fighting back the masses as they ran back to their home base, cheers erupting as they arrived. A horn sounded, and Chiron galloped up the hill, a look of pride on his face as Percy and Annabeth stuck the flag into the ground triumphantly. All the other campers gathered around as Chiron announced the winners. A new camper stepped up and patted Percy's shoulder. The boy looked to be about 15 years old, and had a tall lengthy runners build. His blonde hair hung over one of his blue eyes. He looked like he belonged on the cover of the Vogue, not at Camp Half-Blood.

"Team Percabeth wins again, huh?" the boy chuckled, Percy smiling at the comment as he turned to face him.

"Can't remember a time we didn't. What did you say your name was?" Percy questioned. The boy seemed to just realize he hadn't yet introduced himself, sticking out his hand.

"Theo, Son of Aphrodite."

"Percy, Son of..."

"Everybody knows you Percy. You're a legend!" Just then Chiron announced it was time to go down to the campfire.

"Nice talking Percy! Hey, if you ever get the time, I would love to hear about the time you conquered the Labyrinth!" Theo called as he took off to catch up to his brothers and sisters. Percy just sighed contently as he looked up at the night sky. There were so many times in his life where Percy just wished he could be anyone else; when he found out he was a demigod, when he was informed of the prophecy, when he had to fight Kronos. But right then, it was amazing to be Percy Jackson. Percy could feel the joy in the air as they all gathered around the fire, singing and laughing and carrying on. It had been exactly one year since the 7 of prophecy had done the impossible once again, defeating Gaea and her forces. The Greeks and Romans were finally at peace with one another, even starting an exchange program between the 2 camps so they could each learn from the other's culture. Almost all of the campers finally felt as though they could relax a little bit and enjoy themselves. First with the Titans, then Mother Earth, Percy wanted nothing more than to just kick back and take a little vacation. He and Annabeth had agreed to spend their summer vacation away from the Roman college, and to come back to Camp Half-Blood for the summer. They had been there for 1 uneventful month so far, which was fine by Percy. Even still, the two seemed hesitant to relax completely. Good things never lasted for demigods. Once sing-a-long was over, they all got free time, Percy wading through the crowd to find Annabeth so they could hang out. But just as the were walking away from the campfire, a familiar voice called out to him.

"Hey Jackson! Long time no seem!" Rachel Dare called as she jogged over to the two. Percy smiled brightly when he saw his old friend, the Oracle.

"Rachel, hey. What brings you back to camp?" Percy asked. Rachel playfully scoffed at his comment smirking.

"What, am I banned from joining the fun just 'cause I'm not a demigod?" she taunted. The 3 shared a good laugh, and man did it feel good to laugh. As the 3 walked the beach, Percy hand-in-hand with Annabeth, he couldn't help but feel the weight of the world being slowly pried from his shoulders.

'Man, life sure is good right now,' Percy thought as they all enjoyed the stars. They talked about college, and their friends, but mostly about their plans for the future. Everything seemed normal, at least demigod-normal. He was at Camp, arm around his beautiful girlfriend, enjoying life. So why did he feel so... uneasy?

"Everything OK, Percy?" Annabeth questioned, a concerned look plastered across her face

"Yeah, dude, you look a bit... off." Rachel affirmed, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?" Percy asked. Annabeth shrugged, looking back up at the sky.

"Just checking." she stated. Just then, Chiron blew the horn, signaling time to prepare for bed.

"Better get to our cabins." Annabeth sighed, then suddenly stepped towards Percy and briskly kissed him.

"Goodnight Seaweed Brain."

"Yeah... night." Percy muttered in surprise.

"Night Rachel."

"See you in the morning, Jackson" she chuckled. After regaining his senses, Percy took off running towards his cabin.

'I'm probably just being paranoid' he decided as he got ready for bed. Rachel made her way to the cave that she called her summertime home. Though the location made her accommodations seem less than ideal, the inside of the cave was actually beautifully furnished and very comfortable; she even got her own shower and bathroom, though she would never share that information with the rest of the campers. After she was ready for bed, Rachel sat down and opened an old-looking empty scroll she had gotten from the gift shop. She had recently begun making drawings that she would sell to campers, using these scrolls because it added an ancient vibe to her artwork. She looked out the entrance of the cave, quill in hand. As she racked her brain for something to draw, she didn't even notice her hand beginning to write all by itself, scrawling rapidly onto the crinkled parchment. When Rachel looked back down, she saw the message she had written, her heart jumping to her throat.

'Oh no.' she thought as the scroll seemed to roll itself up all at once, Rachel jumping out of her chair in shock.


	2. Chapter 2: Good Things Never Last

That night, Percy had a patented weird demigod dream. He was sitting at his home with his mom, eating some of her classic blue cookies. They were talking about college, and what he was planning on majoring in, when she suddenly looked up at him, her eyes glazed over a pale, pasty white color and a blank expression on her face. When she opened her mouth to speak, a raspy voice that was not her own came pouring out.

"You must find it, Percy Jackson. It is your only hope."

"Find what?" Percy questioned when he finally found his voice

"What do I need to find?" His 'mother' stared at him for a few moments, as though she was pondering how much to tell him.

"The light. Find the Light." It answered at last. Suddenly, the entire world began to dissolve all around him, as though none of it were ever real. The chair he had been sitting on suddenly vanished, dropping him into the bottomless void below. He fell for what felt like an eternity until he suddenly hit the bottom of the void. He jolted up in his bed, panting and sweating from the whole ordeal. Percy threw off his blanket and stood up, bracing himself on the wall as he tried to slow his breathing.

"So much for me just being paranoid" He gripped angrily. It was official; good things never last for demigods.

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Rachel could still hear that wretched voice pouring out of her father's mouth as she got dressed and headed to the Mess Hall.

'Find the Light. What the heck is that supposed to mean?' She thought to herself as she walked down the dusty path. When she reached her destination, she scanned the crowd for Annabeth. One of the benefits of being the host to an immortal oracle was that she could sit almost anywhere she wanted, and today she felt like sitting next to Annabeth. After the crazy dream she had last night, Rachel felt she could definitely use some of Annabeth's logical and reasonable thinking. She spotted the curly blonde, wading through the masses, and tapping her shoulder. Annabeth turned and smiled, instantly sobering when she saw the look on Rachel's face Annabeth knew something was wrong.

"Rachel, what is it? What happened?'' Annabeth questioned, concern evident by the tone of her voice. Rachel didn't even know where to begin.

"I had a super weird dream last night," Rachel started to explain. Annabeth happened to look up just as Percy walked into the dining hall. Annabeth adored Percy, but this particular morning he looked like he had been to Hades and back. His eyes were bloodshot red, framed by tiny purple bags underneath; clear signs he hadn't gotten enough sleep. He trudged to get his food, and shuffled over to his table to eat. Rachel seemed to notice Percy's sleepwalking as well, the two girls heading over to his table.

"Percy, you look like you haven't slept in years." Rachel commented. Percy looked up at them, trying desperately to keep his eyes open.

"Yeah….yeah I'm fine. Just…. Had a rough night last night. Had the weirdest dream…" He yawned. Rachel visibly tensed up.

"I'm going to take a huge shot in the dark here, and say that some creepy, screechy voice warned you about the Light?" she questioned. Percy instantly shot up, seemingly shocked wide awake.

"B-but how did you-" He began.

"How do you think, Fish Boy? I had the same stinking dream!" Rachel whispered, trying her best not to attract any attention. For a moment, no one moved or said anything, until Annabeth finally spoke up.

"This can't be a coincidence; both of you having the exact same dream. We need to talk to Chiron about this. We'll go after breakfast. But please, keep it quiet; the other campers don't need to worry until we know something for sure" Percy and Rachel nodded in agreement, and the girls went back to their table. None of them talked much; they were all too worried about what may lie ahead. Another quest so soon? They were all under the assumption that their worries were behind them. Unfortunately for them, that didn't seem to be the case. If Rachel and Percy were having similar dreams about this "light", one could only reason that it wasn't a very good sign. As soon as they all got done eating they made their way down to the big house, finding Chiron in his office, behind his desk diligently filling out paperwork, Bocelli playing softly in the background. He looked up and smiled.

"Percy, Annabeth, Rachel. So nice to see you. What can I do for you?" They all just looked at one another, wondering who should be the one to tell him. Rachel spoke first, stepping forwards a bit.

"Ok, I know this is going to sound really weird, but Percy and I had the same dream last night." She began. She half expected the old centaur to burst out laughing; it did seem quite , Chiron simply leaned forward onto his elbows, hands clasped in front of him.

"Go on," He prodded kindly. Rachel swallowed the lump in the back of her throat, continuing.

"Well, we both dreamed about being told to find some… 'light'." She explained Chiron looked astonished as he leaned back in his chair. Clearly this meant more to him than it had to them.

"The… the light? And you both had this dream?" He questioned, looking at Percy, who nodded. Chiron stepped out from around his desk, his hooves clomping against the oak wood floor as he did.

"Follow me." He commanded, walking out from around his desk. Percy knew the look on Chiron's face from a mile away; danger was lurking just around the corner.

"Chiron, do you know something about a light?" Percy asked, Chiron sighing.

"Not a light, Percy; THE Light. The prophecy is one I received from Olympus itself almost 20 years ago. I was commanded to keep it from anyone until such a time as it were ready to be fulfilled." Chiron explained as they walked around to the attic's entrance.

"And now Rachel and I have the same dream about it. Perfect." Percy finished, Chiron looking pained by the words.

"Percy, I am truly sorry. You have been through more trials and quests than any hero should have to endure; but it is not my decision to make. If you had the dream about the Light, I can only assume that you must also partake in whatever quest should follow." Chiron appologized, Percy forcing a smile.

"Eh, I was getting bored of just sitting around here anyways. I mean, who needs peace and quiet anyways?" Percy tried to sound optimistic, but sounded more defeated than anything. Chiron looked sorrowful as he lead them up into the Big House attic. Unbeknownst to them, the first steps of a new era had just been taken.


	3. Chapter 3: Cursing a Quest 101

Chiron led the three to the attic of the Big House, where the Oracle once resided. The place was the exact same as Percy and the others remembered it; relics from past quests were scattered all over the floor in no particular order, and covered in a thick layer of dust. Off to the left was a tall bookshelf full of novels and biographies, none of which looked like they had been touched since they were placed on the shelf. The window in the very back was so caked with dust it barely let any light in at all, giving the entire room an eerie vibe. A peculiar musty smell filled the air as soon as they opened the door, taking Percy back to when he was 12 years old, asking the Oracle what his destiny was.

"This place brings back memories, huh?" Percy murmured. Annabeth just looked around, the wheels in her head already turning, spitting out memories long since forgotten.

"But Rachel is the Oracle now. So why are we here?" As if in response, Chiron pulled a book on the shelf, titled "Introduction to Optics". At first nothing happened, but suddenly, the bookshelf started slowly scraping off to the side, revealing another room. Chiron looked at them, a tiny smile playing at the corner of his mouth

"You didn't really think the Big House's attic was that small, did you?" He questioned as they stepped into the adjoining room. It looked almost identical to the previous space, save cobwebs hanging much lower and different items clogging the floor.

"This room was originally built as a meeting place for extremely secretive meetings, so that nosey campers wouldn't interrupt. However, about 20 years ago, a prophecy was delivered concerning something called the "light", and how this great power would someday be Olympus' only hope against an evil greater than even they had ever faced." Chiron stepped up to a table that sat in the middle of the room. The desk had a single drawer with an odd shaped keyhole. Chiron pulled a key out of his pocket.

"I had hoped I wouldn't be using this key for a very, very long time." he sighed sadly as he inserted the key and turned slowly. The tumblers could be heard clicking and clunking, dust flying into the air as the drawer opened. Inside was a scroll, and what looked to be an amulet. Chiron pulled both items out, blowing dust off of them softly.

"This prophecy is only to be opened once the light has been retrieved. And this," he said as he held up the amulet. It was a piece of beautiful Amethyst on a golden chain.

"This was given to me when Hermes hand-delivered this scroll. He told me that this would lead you to the light." Percy took it staring at it for a few moments, then handed it to Rachel.

"You're taking lead on this one, Rach." Percy smiled. Rachel looked like she had been hit by a train, taking a step backwards cautiously.

"No Percy, I'm…. I can't." Annabeth put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"I agree. This somehow feels… right. You'll do great, I know it." she smiled. Rachel grudgingly took the amulet into her hand. The moment she touched it, her expression went completely blank.

"108 St. Luke Lane, Chicago, Illinois" she droned mindlessly. She blinked twice and shook her head, her expression returning to normal as she beamed with happiness.

"That…. That was AWESOME!" she exclaimed. Percy's eyebrows arched in disbelief.

"That's it? That's where the light is?" He shrugged nonchalantly, placing his hands on his head with a confident smile.

"Awesome. This'll be easy." he said cooly. Annabeth, without a facial expression or any form of warning slapped him in the back of the head. He whipped around in disbelief and anger.

"What the heck, Annabeth! What was that for?!" he exasperated. She glared daggers right back at him, clearly not very happy either.

"What was that for, Seaweed Brain? THAT was for cursing the quest you nitwit! Now, we will inevitably run into all sorts of trouble. Thanks a lot, Percy." she said grumpily, crossing her arms and staring him down.

"Well you didn't have to HIT me! Geez!" he accused, rubbing the back of his head tenderly.

"If she didn't, I was gonna." Rachel commented. Percy looked back and forth between them, betrayal written all over his face.

"Thanks alot for all the LOYALTY guys. Top notch, really. I'm gonna go pack." he stomped off in the direction of his cabin.

"Hopefully no one else feels the urge to spontaneously SLAP me on the way!" he yelled over his shoulder. Without moving or even looking at one another, the 2 girls hi-fived.

"Nice shot, Annabeth. Great form too." Rachel chuckled, Annabeth joining in. After a moment, they both calmed back down.

"He totally just cursed us, didn't he?" Rachel asked.

"Ohhhh yeah he did. Big time. Be prepared." Annabeth said. She then turned to Chiron.

"We'll bring the light back, Chiron, don't worry." she said confidently. Chiron nodded, staring off into the distance, thinking.

"I do hope so, Annabeth. If the light is needed, a great power must be rising. I fear this could be one of our greatest challenges yet. And this may be just the beginning." The girls turned and walked into the other part of the attic, heading towards the stairs.

"And be on guard, girls. If the Light is as powerful as we think, you won't be the only ones looking for it." Chiron added. Annabeth nodded before jogging down the steps and meeting up with Rachel, who was putting the amulet around her neck. She looked completely nervous, her hands shaking slightly as she took in a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Rachel, everything will be fine. Percy and I have been on more quests than any other camper here, and have always come through. Trust me, you'll do great." Annabeth reassured, heading off towards her cabin to pack. Rachel too went back to her cave, pulling out a duffel bag and shoving clothes into it.

"Ok, Rachel calm down." She said to herself as she packed.

"You go, find the Light, and come back. What's the worst that could happen?"


	4. Chapter 4: Hidden Treasure

Percy stuffed his clothes into a duffel bag grouchily, still more than a little agitated at Annabeth for smacking him. He hadn't done anything wrong! All he wanted was a nice, quiet, relaxing summer where monsters weren't trying to eat him, and he could just focus on enjoying life. Now, he was already being shoved off onto another quest, presumably to clean up yet another one of the Olympian's messes.

"We know where it is, and it's a straight shot from here to Chicago. We've dealt with Mother Earth, I'm sure we can handle a little drive. Right?" He reasoned with himself as he packed. Plenty of ambrose and nectar? Check. His sword-pen Riptide? Check. Clothes… and some blue cookies his mother had packed him. He turned to leave, and was greeted by Annabeth and Rachel, both of which also had bags packed up.

"You guys ready to head out?" Percy asked. They both nodded, and together went to Meet with Chiron. When he saw them approaching, a saddened look appeared on his face. He had really hoped that Percy would finally get to have at least one semi-normal summer. At the same time, Chiron knew that a son of Poseidon, with the power Percy possessed, would be the Olympian's champion for years to come.

"Are you ready to go then?" Chiron asked. Percy shouldered his bag with a little more anger than usual, his face betraying his inner thoughts and feelings.

"I'm just ready to get this over with and get back to our normal summer vacation." Percy replied, but the tone in his voice spoke more volumes than his words ever could. They would all be shocked if retrieving the Light were the end of the journey, but that still didn't stop Percy from holding out hope that perhaps it would.

"I pray that you do, Percy. And again, I would like to extend my apologies; if I had a choice in the matter, I would send someone else." Chiron admitted, Percy smiling at the old centaur.

"Not your fault, Chiron. And I'm sure the gods have a good reason to send me." Percy tried to stay optimistic.

"Please, let me walk you to the van." Chiron offered. As they walked to Half-Blood Hill, you could feel the air was siphoned clean of the happiness that had once been in abundance. Campers were casting tiny, sideways glances at the three as they trekked towards the hill. Percy knew those looks all too well; fear. You could almost sense it in every camper that walked by, in every whisper that left their lips. They were afraid that another war was just around the corner, and if they were honest, so did Percy and Annabeth. Argus was already pulled up to the hill in a black SUV, ready to drive them to wherever their journey took them. They turned to Chiron again, who himself seemed a bit on edge. He tried desperately to hide it, smiling at the group as they loaded their things into the car.

"Be safe, young heroes. Remember to always stay on guard; you never know what evils could lurk just around the corner." He commented. He trot closer the the SUV, placing a hand on Percy's arm, which hung out the window.

"Please come back safely." Chiron asked, Percy forcing another smile and nodding.

"We will. Don't worry, we'll have the light and be back in no time." Percy reassured him. Chiron took a step back, waving at them as Argus pulled away. For quite some time they drove in silence, only Annabeth's typing on her laptop and Percy's nervous tapping breaking the silence. Finally, Rachel spoke up.

"So, it's a good 12 hours from here to Chicago, So should we divide it into 2 days, or just ride out the whole thing?" Annabeth looked over to Percy, to ask him, sighing Percy Jackson could fall asleep in a time like this. She looked back at Rachel, the disdain clearly evident in her expression.

"I think we'll just ride it out." Annabeth responded, then went back to work, typing with a furious rage. She pulled the stylus off of the side of her laptop, beginning to sketch something onto the screen. More silence rang, Rachel looking out the window for some time before looking back at Annabeth.

"Whacha working on?" Rachel asked, Annabeth smiling and looking up.

"I'm actually working on an assignment for my architecture class; I have to design building that maximizes office efficiency." She explained, turning her screen and revealing her design. It was the start of an elegant two story building, Annabeth having just begun sectioning it off into rooms.

"Wow, it's amazing. You are really talented, Annabeth!" Rachel exclaimed, Annabeth shrugging and turning her screen back to her.

"I promised Percy I wouldn't work on it until after summer was over… the assignment hasn't even been given yet," She chuckled, sketching once again as she spoke.

"Then again, we also promised no quests or monsters or deadly peril," Annabeth gestured around, as if to say 'but here we are'.

"What about you, Rachel; you working on anything big?" Annabeth asked, Rachel smiling.

"Well, I just got accepted into the California Institute of the Arts, so that's one thing." She admitted, Annabeth looking impressed.

"Wow, nice! That's one of the best art schools in the country, isn't it?" She asked, Rachel nodding.

"Yep, I start in August. Other than that, this quest is the biggest thing to happen to me." She admitted.

"Trust me, normal is bliss. Everyone thinks being chosen to go on quest after quest must be exciting; it's not. I'd take normal over almost eaten any day." Annabeth informed. Rachel looked out the window once again, watching as the world passed by. Out of nowhere, the amulet she was given glowed a bright, neon purple. Rachel hesitantly reached out and touched to gemstone, the same blank feeling taking her over once more.

"11268 Pilot Avenue, Marion, Indiana" she spoke, Annabeth looking up curiously.

"What did you- Oh." Annabeth ended when she saw the amulet in Rachel's hand.

"Indiana? It was just in Illinois, like, 5 minutes ago!" she exasperated. Both girls glared at the sleeping form of the quest-curser Percy Jackson.

"Well, assuming that it doesn't randomly move again, we just cut our drive time in half. Still, how did it move so quickly?" Rachel commented to herself.

"What do you think it looks like? Will we even know what to look for?"

she asked. Annabeth paused, her stylus hovering over her screen for a moment as she thought

"In my experience, with things like these, when you see it, you'll know." She answered, going back to her work. Rachel looked down the now inactive amulet in her fingers, twirling it slowly. She carefully examined ancient artifact. The actual amulet was about the size of her palm, made of a worn brass material, ancient character long forgotten scrawled into it. The middle was hollow, harboring a glowing purple gemstone no bigger than a nickel. If you looked at it the right way, it almost looked like an eye, staring deep into her very soul. As she twirled the relic around, she felt her finger get caught on the back, turning it around. There was a tiny flap on the back, almost completely invisible to the naked eye. She slid her fingernail underneath the tiny flap, pulling up. A light sound hissed as it opened, revealing the contents inside. The gemstone wasn't a gemstone at all, but a plain titanium ring encrusted with 4 very bright amethysts on the knuckle. By then Annabeth was watching, curiosity in both of their eyes as she carefully lifted the ring out to examine it. Rachel felt the inside of the brass, the golden chain falling out into her palm. The necklace had a dime sized piece of what appeared to be a ruby attached to the end, glinting in the sunlight. Both girls were left speechless at the spectacle. Rachel carefully put the ring on, squeezing her eyes shut as she did. When she felt nothing out of the ordinary, she slowly opened her eyes, panic taking over.

"Did….Did I ruin it?!" Rachel cried, Annabeth obviously forming some kind of theory.

"I don't think so. Where is the light now?"

"Same address in Indiana, why?" Rachel gasped "Whoa! I knew that! How did I know that?"

"I think the ring is the true source of power, Rachel. The necklace was just a facade." Annabeth reassured. Rachel looked at the ring on her finger, then at the necklace in her hand.

'Wow. Demigod stuff is complicated!' she thought to herself as they informed Argus of their slight change in destination. Rachel could feel her heart racing and her adrenaline pumping from the awesome experience. Now, she couldn't wait to see the Light.


	5. Chapter 5: Monsters, Mayhem, and Pie

For the next few hours, the two girls chatted back and forth about their plans after school, and about their plans for the summer. Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by Percy sitting up and stretching, looking around in a sleepy daze.

"Mmhwe there yet?" He whined. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Does it LOOK like we're there yet, Seaweed Brain?" she commented, her tone making it quite clear how stupid the question was.

"Does it LOOK like we're there yet" Percy said in a bratty mock of Annabeth. She glared at him with a deadly gaze, Percy realizing what he had just said as he began to visibly sweat.

"Oh look….. McDonald's." he stated randomly, looking out the window. Annabeth scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"That's what I thought you said, Jackson." She threatened. Desperate to change the subject, he happened a glance at Rachel's hand, and saw the ring.

"Nice ring, Ray. Where'd you get it?" She looked at it smiling.

"Long story, Percy." He rested his head on the window and faced her.

"We've got time." So Rachel told him about how the ring was in the amulet, and about how they were now on their way to Indiana instead of Illinois. Presumably thanks to him.

"I did not curse the quest! Seriously! There is no curse. This is a simple in and out thing, guys." He insisted, but the others wouldn't listen, Rachel continuing to tell him about him about how she had found out the ring was inside the amulet. By the time she was finished, Argus pulled over to the side of a road, reaching their destination. In all honesty, it was nothing like what they were expecting. Instead of the light being in an area with a lot of humans to disguise its presence, the trio found themselves in a very rural little town. The "town square" looked like your typical modern western set up, a bunch of stores with one street running straight through it. There were restaurants, a barber, a doctor's office, a grocery store, and a couple of other stores lining the street. The only difference from a western town was that right outside the boarders, there was a few rows of houses on a hill. Rachel stood there silently, taking it all in. She looked at the ring as it glowed bright purple, a magnetic sensation pulling her forwards. Rachel suddenly started walking, somehow feeling as though she knew right where she was going.

"Um, guys…. The ring is doing a thingy!" She yelled behind her as she continued walking. Annabeth and Percy followed, grabbing their bags and telling Argus they'd be right back. They caught up to Rachel, and kept stride with her as she walked towards what looked to be a rest stop.

"Rachel, whoa slow down!" Percy said. Rachel just kept walking, going straight into the rest stop. The ring was glowing a bright, neon purple. She held up her hand, feeling the magnetic pull towards a singular person; a young man, no older than 25, sitting on a stool at the bar. He was a little taller than Percy, but not by much. He was very well built for someone his age, wearing a red sleeveless shirt and a pair of army grade camo pants and boots. A short beard hid his true identity, the aviator sunglasses weren't helping either.

"There. He has it Percy! He has to have the light." Rachel hissed quietly, pointing nonchalantly.

"Ok, well…. You 2 grab a table, I'll be right back." Percy whispered. He walked over as calmly as one could, and sat down next to him. The boy looked at him for a second, then back down at his plate

"So, how's the pie?" Percy asked. The boy hummed in response, not even looking over.

"Best pie anywhere dude. Now, a question for a question if I may; what exactly are you?" Percy looked at the boy confusedly.

"I….I'm not sure exactly what you mean." Percy said nervously. The boy scoffed, still refusing to make eye contact with Percy.

"C'mon, monsters have been after me since day one. I know a human when I see one; you're no human." Percy swallowed hard. This was the difficult part.

"I'm not a monster. Im….." Percy looked around, then leaned closer.

"Ok, you know the Greek gods?" he started

"Yeah they're real. Tell me something I didn't know…" the boy paused, examining a wallet.

"...Percy Jackson, 6'1", Black hair, blue green eyes, 18 years old" The boy read off of his driver's license.

"HEY!" Percy said, yanking his wallet out of his hands, Percy stuffing it back into his pocket. He sat down, the boy sighing deeply.

"So you're a demigod?" He asked, Percy nodding. The boy continued eating, obviously not at all thrilled

.

"Well that's nice and all, but what does that have to do with me?" he asked.

"Well, we believe that you may have a device or item of extreme importance to us." Percy said seriously. The boy cocked an eyebrow at him, seeming almost intrigued.

"And what, pray tell, is this life changing item you think I have?"

"As far as we can tell, it is called 'The Light'". The boy laughed, like Percy had just told an inside joke.

"Well, Mr. Jackson, I hate to disappoint, but whatever it is you're looking for, I don't have it. Sorry to waste your time." As the boy turned back to his pie, Percy's heart dropped. Their only lead, and he knows nothing.

"Are...are you sure?" He asked, the boy sighing even more, not even looking up.

"Positive. Sorry, but I can't help you." Percy was about to leave, when he turned.

"If you don't have the light, then why are monsters after you?" As if on cue, an unholy roar was heard outside. Percy looked back and forth between the boy and the door. Annabeth and Rachel were already heading out. Percy reluctantly pulled out and uncapped Riptide, charging out of the diner. Everyone else was left to wonder how and why that boy would sneak a baseball bat into a diner.

"Cool sword." The mystery boy muttered to himself, turning back around and eating once again, as though nothing had happened at all.


	6. Chapter 6: The Truth Revealed

When Percy reached the street, he was met with an all too familiar sight. A monster terrorizing the people of the town, everyone screaming and running for cover. It looked like a giant 2 headed snake, one head on the shoulders and one on the tail. It's giant, scaly wings flapped in the air, and its 2 front arms smashed anything in its path. Its tail head was breathing fire at anything the front left behind. The creature picked up an entire car and threw it down the streets, the trio ducking as it flew overhead

"Annabeth, what is that thing?" Percy yelled over the sound of the destruction, a mailbox flying past his head.

"Amphisbaena. Very old, very powerful!" she yelled back. The creature's front head lifted into the air and sniffed twice, then whipped around and roared at the heroes.

"Oook we have its attention. Plans Wise Girl?!" Percy said nervously.

"Dodge the cars and avoid the fire!" she screamed, somersaulting off to the side as the Amphisbaena vaulted another car at them, its alarm wailing overhead.

"Gee thanks!" he yelled sarcastically. They both waited until another blast of fire was let loose, then came out from behind their cover and attacked. Percy sliced the creature's forearm straight off, a roar of agony piercing the air. Annabeth charged the flank, stabbing and slashing as the hind head whipped around and almost roasted her. She narrowly ducked and rolled, sliding onto one knee. Percy blocked the monster's claws and sliced deep into its face. As it reeled from the hit, he jumped and sprung off of its head, landing on the other side. As the 2 recovered and prepared to attack again, something horrific happened. The beast started squealing and wriggling in agony, suddenly letting out an ear-piercing screech. Its eyes turned a disturbed blood red as the hind head split off, growing arms and legs of its own, as well as wings. The front head did the same, creating 2 new monsters. Both roared at the heroes, looking scarier and stronger than the original models.

"Wise Girl….." Percy started, clearly more than a little worried.

"I see it, Percy. We'll do the same. Divide and conquer. Duck!" Percy narrowly missed a manhole cover that had been hurled at him like a Frisbee. Percy attacked, dodging a stream of flames and stabbing at its chest, Annabeth following suit on the other beast. They fought and dodged and slashed and ducked, until they were both standing shoulder to shoulder, the monsters mere feet away from them, blood dripping from their cuts. Then, one of them turned to Rachel, who had been standing off away from the fight. Percy followed its gaze, instantly realizing the creature's intentions

"Rachel RUN!" Percy screamed. But it was too late. The creature let loose a stream of flames. Rachel screamed and covered her eyes, Percy and Annabeth watching helplessly as their friend was charred to ash. But, just as the flames were about to engulf her, a streak of purple light zoomed in and grabbed her out of the way. Percy and Annabeth looked around in bewilderment, until they saw the boy from the diner, standing a good 10 yards away, holding an unharmed Rachel bridal style. He set her down gently, sighing to himself.

"Can't even have one morning; not one morning." He grumbled. The boy then looked at Rachel, raising an eyebrow.

"You're not a half-blood, are you?" He questioned. Rachel could only shake her head, still stunned from the near death experience

"Then you may want to stay away from the action." He groaned as he cracked his neck, then his back.

"Just a suggestion. I'm only 19 and I'm already getting too old for this." He finished, then seemed to suddenly appeared next to Percy and Annabeth, a trail of purple and blue light left behind. The faintest smile twitched on Percy's lips when he noticed the new fighter besides him. The boy noticed and shrugged.

"You looked in desperate need of help." he stated nonchalantly.

"We had it under control." Percy insisted, clearly a bit offended by the boy's accusations. The boy simply rolled his eyes, scoffing

"Oh really? And where do the flaming cars fit into your plan?" He asked. Annabeth glared at them both, clearly fed up with their childish antics. Though she had never met the mystery boy, she couldn't shake the feeling that she recognized him from somewhere.

"Boys, can we fight now and argue later?" She growled through grit teeth, clearly not asking.

"Whatever you say, Blonde." The boy said, then took a ready stance. Percy seemed to just notice the boy didn't have a weapon of any kind.

"You don't have a blade?" Percy asked, the boy shaking his head.

"Not for a while. But I've done more with less." He replied. As if in response, the 2 monsters charged them in a sudden fit of rage. The boy took off, a purple-blue blur as he seemed to appear in front of one of the monsters, punching it in the face with lighting speed. In the same moment, he seemed to be punching the other as well. He dodged its claws, then roundhouse-kicked it. It reeled, and Percy took full advantage, slicing the head off of one of the monsters. It fell to the ground in a cloud of dust. The 3 turned to the remaining monster to see it was splitting into 2, then 4, then 6, until there were at least 30 of them.

"Whoa. Ok, that's a first" the kid said. By then, Rachel was a few feet away, amazed by the sight. One of the beasts noticed Rachel again, and the boy noticed as well

"Hey Red! I told you to stay back!" he yelled. But the monster took advantage of the moment, wrapping its long, scaly tail around the boy, constricting around him, squeezing the life out of him. Rachel looked around wildly, trying desperately to find a way to help the boy out.

'Come on, there's gotta be something sharp around here!' she thought. Then, she heard a raspy female voice that wasn't her own in her head, the same one that was in her dreams.

'The ring. Throw him the ring.' Without time to question, she wiggled the ring off of her finger.

"Hey, kid! Catch!" she yelled, throwing the ring. As it flew through the air, it changed; morphing and elongating until the boy caught a wicked looking sword. It's design was very conventional, looking like a kukri-sword. The fuller of the blade was encrusted with the 4 amethysts from the ring. The metal of the blade was a shining titanium color. The boy sliced off the creature's tail, then in a blaze of purple energy sliced it into a million tiny pieces. He looked at the blade admiringly, then zoomed off, slicing each monster into pieces as he went. All the other 3 could see was a purple blur and monsters falling to pieces. After a few moments, there was an eerie silence, monster dust floating everywhere. The boy appeared in front of the 3, slicing the throat of the final beast as he walked.

"What a way to start the day. Didn't even get to finish my pie." The boy complained. He held the sword out to Rachel.

"That's one wicked blade you've got there, Red."

"Keep it. It looks like you can use it better than I can." The boy looked behind himself, seeing the orange dust everywhere.

"Thanks." he said sincerely, pulling a sheath out of the backpack he was carrying, and sliding the sword in. The sheath seemed to magically morph into the same shape as the blade. Rachel must have looked intrigued, the boy smirking.

"Long story. Used to have a cool sword kinda like this one, but it was... broken." He explained. Percy stepped closer to him, looking him in the eyes.

"This explains why the monsters kept coming after you. You're one of us, right?" Percy asked. The boy sighed, turning around and walking down the road.

"It's been fun, but I really should be going." The boy informed. Percy jogged over and caught up with him, blocking his path.

"We need to talk." Percy insisted.

"No, we don't. I'm done talking." The boy responded, dust kicking up in Percy's face as the boy flew down the street a few feet in a blur of colorful blue and purple light, brushing himself off and walking away once again. Percy just stood there, teeth clenched as the boy walked away.

"We need your help. If you know where the light is, we need your help really badly. Please help us!" Percy yelled, the boy slowly coming to a stop. In a flash of light, he was standing right next to Percy, hands in his pockets.

"Look, I don't know what kind of sick game Olympus thinks it's playing, but I'm not interested." He insisted, Annabeth catching on.

"So you do know where the Light is, don't you?" She asked, The boy laughing again, just like in the diner.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced." The boy smiled, sticking out his hand.

"The name's Lyte. Micah Lyte."


	7. Chapter 7: Origins

"So hang on: You're saying you ARE the light?" Rachel asked incredulously. They were all 4 packed into the SUV, Micah and Percy in the far back seat, and the 2 girls in the front. Micah shrugged genuinely.

"What I'm saying is that Olympus hasn't left me in peace for the past 14 years. And you come to me, looking for a light? And my last name happens to be a homonym?"

"Very unlikely, seeing as though the ring also led us right to him. And your name isn't a homonym; technically it's a heterograph " Annabeth commented.

"Thank you, oh great and wise one." Micah said sarcastically, Percy trying desperately not to laugh. She looked back at Micha, trying to figure out why she felt like she had seen or met him before. He didn't seem to notice as he looked out the window of the SUV. He pulled the sword out of the sheath a little bit, examining the blade. There was an inlaid hole in the middle of the guard. He stuck his ring finger into it, and in a flash of purple light, it became a ring on his finger. He looked up and smiled.

"That's actually really cool." he commented, now examining the ring.

"Reminds me of how your blade works, PJ." Percy nodded, then pulled out his ball-point pen.

"It's called Aνακλυσμός."

"Riptide." Micah translated. "Neat." Percy smiled and nodded.

"Hey, what's this ones name?" He asked. Percy shrugged.

"Guess you get to name it."

"Hang on." Rachel said as she reached over impulsively and touched the ring on his hand. She closed her eyes and focused

"It has a name." She said, her eyes still locked shut.

"And you know this because…" Micah asked.

"Long story short, I'm the new Oracle of Delphi. Sometimes I can see things if I try hard enough." She informed, then went back to focusing.

"Δήμιος" Rachel finally said after a few seconds. Annabeth's eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Executioner. Wow. What a name for a sword." she commented. They all sat in silence for a few moments before Percy spoke up.

"So, Micah, tell us a little about yourself" He suggested. Micah didn't seem too thrilled about that idea, slumping in his seat a bit.

"Not much to tell. What do you want to know?" he asked unenthusiastically

"How old are you?"

"19."

"Where's your family?" Annabeth asked. "Won't they be worried about you?"

Micah began twisting the ring on his finger, shrugging nonchalauntly.

"Not really; I don't really have one." he stated unconcernedly. Both girls turned around and looked at him shocked.

"I've been on the run since I was 5. My mom died around that time. Ex-military. She was the extremely stern and unmoving type; She taught me martial arts, and how to defend myself. She was a Seal, so she knew how to fight.." he paused, looking up at them, not a sign of care or concern on his face, but his eyes revealing the pain he hid so well.

"One day, she goes to work, I go to school; It seemed to be another normal day. Only when I get home, the house is locked. Mom's not home. The back window was always unlocked, so I climbed in, figuring Mom was just working late. She never came back. Gone." He explained. Annabeth looked more than a bit confused.

"But, how did you survive? I mean, where did you live?" She asked, Micah shrugging again.

"Where didn't I live? Every state in the US at least for one night; Mexico, Peru, India, China, France… I've been just about everywhere." He admitted.

"How did you afford it?" She asked, Micah smirked deviously, holding up Percy's wallet once again.

"My skills come in handy in more ways than one." He explained, Percy yanking his wallet out of Micah's hands and stuffing it back into his pocket. Annabeth's eyes grew a bit larger when she saw Micah's abilities up close.

"So, you're fast?" She asked, Micah actually laughing.

"I think that 'fast' is a bit of an understatement, but yeah; I'm fast." He admitted. Annabeth wasn't done quite yet, turning around in her seat a bit more.

"How fast?" She asked, Micah scoffing.

"What, you think I wear an odometer or something? I don't know exactly how fast, but most certainly faster than you think." He confirmed. Annabeth looked over at the car's odometer; they were going 70 miles per hour, down the highway.

"You think that you could keep up with this car?" She asked, Micah laughing again.

"Could I keep up with this car?" He asked, as though insulted she would even suggest he could be slower.

"Hun, I could make it to that toll booth and back before you could bat an eye."

"Oh, really?" She asked, challenge evident in her voice. Micah glared at her, confidently opening the SUV's door. Wind whipped in as Micah stepped outside. The minute his feet touched the pavement, he was gone, a flash of purple and blue light that zoomed over to the toll booth and back so quickly that it looked as though it could have been an illusion. Micah stepped back into the car, closing the door with a smug look on his face.

"Really." He concluded, settling back into his seat. No one said much of anything for a while, until Percy looked over to Micah, a confused look on his face.

"Why did you agree to come to help us? You don't even really know who we are?" Percy asked.

"When I saw you charge out of that diner, and fight off those monsters to protect the mortals, I knew that your heart was in the right place; you fight to protect those who can't protect themselves, and I respect that." Micah explained, lifting up his shirt and revealing a white, circular scar underneath his ribs.

"Got this when I saved these two girls who were running from a Manticore a long time ago." He explained, Percy's eyes growing wide. Micah pulled back down his shirt, leaning back in his seat.

"Plus, I could tell you guys were in desperate need of some help. So I thought I'd tag along, see this 'Camp Half-Blood' for myself. I mean, it's not like I can't just leave if I don't like the place anyways." Micah finished, staring out the window. The van was on its last legs, having taken in some major damage from their previous battle. When they finally pulled up to Camp, they saw Chiron trotting down the hill to the van as they pulled to a stop.

"I am so glad to see you all back so soon." Chiron sighed in relief, seeming to just notice their extra passenger, raising a curious eyebrow at the sight.

"I take it you must be the one who has the Light?" Chiron asked, Micah laughing softly to himself once more.

"Chiron, he doesn't have the Light… we believe he is the Light." Annabeth explained, Chiron looking shocked. Micah stepped forwards sticking out his hand.

"Micah Lyte. You must be the Camp leader?" He asked, Chiron nodding.

"Indeed I am; welcome to Camp-Half Blood. I take it from your lack of reaction to my appearance that you are a demigod?" Chiron asked, Micah simply nodding.

"Well, Micah; there is only one way to know for sure whether or not you are the Light." Chiron explained, looking up to the sky.

"Oh great Lord Zeus! If this is the one who we were to find, please give us a sign!" Chiron cried. For a moment, nothing happened, until suddenly lightning struck a nearby tree, setting it ablaze for a brief moment before fizzling out. Percy turned to Micah, a half smile plastered onto his face.

" Looks like you'll be staying with us for a while."


	8. Chapter 8: A Face From the Past

While Percy and Annabeth went to take care of some other things, Chiron led Micah to the Hermes cabin, opening the door.

"This is where you will stay for the duration of your time here." Chiron explained, a few children running out the door to play. Micah looked like he had been hit by a semi-truck, and Chiron noticed.

"Something wrong?" He asked, Micah looking over at him with a serious and slightly panicked look on his face.

"Um… I don't do really well with small, crowded places…" He began, Chiron putting a hand on his shoulder and leading him away from the cabin. When they were out of earshot, Chiron leaned closer.

"I have a spare room in the big house; it used to be our nurse's office before we built the infirmary. If you don't mind moving some old equipment into the attic, you can stay there." Chiron whispered. The tension visibly left Micah's shoulders as he let out a breath he didn't even realizing he had been holding.

"Thanks a ton. That would be great. Um, one more thing; where are the showers?" Micah asked, Chiron pointing to a large building behind the cabins.

"Right over there. Take as much time as you need, Micah; but when you are done, could you please me in my office; It's about a quest." Chiron finished, Micah nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, sure. And hey; thanks for the tour." Micah called over his shoulder, stunning the old centaur when he sped off in a burst of light. Chiron stood there dazed for a moment, before shaking his head and turning towards the big house. He couldn't shake the feeling that Micah looked… familiar.

Micah grabbed a towel and hopped into one of the shower stalls, holding onto the rails in the shower as he let the hot water spray down his toned body. When he was about 12 years old, he started working out, to make sure he was strong and fit enough to take care of himself in a fight. That coupled with the years on the run made him extremely well built. His body was riddled with scars, some large and thick, some smaller and thin, but each one told a story. He had done things he wasn't proud of; things he wished he could forget. But through it all he had come to realize that we can't change the things of the past by clinging onto them and letting them drag us down. All we can do is move forward and let the pains of the past be lessons learned. He heard another shower turn off, someone stepping out and walking over to the lockers that lined the wall, their wet feet clopping along the floor. Micah turned off his shower as well, having gotten thoroughly cleaned off from the monster dust. He wrapped himself in his towel, stepping out to see Percy, getting some deodorant out of his locker. When he saw Micah he smiled brightly at him.

"Hey, man. How you like the camp so far?" Percy asked

"Really nice place; wish I would have known about it 7 years ago." Micah admitted, stroking his chin. He seemed to just realize the thin beard on his face, seeing a few razors in Percy's locker.

"Hey, could I maybe borrow a razor? The beard needs to go." Micah explained with a smile, Percy tossing him an unopened razor and some shaving cream, smirking.

"Wise decision. The beard makes you look too scruffy." Percy and he both laughed at the comment, Percy throwing on some clothes and heading out the door, leaving Micah alone with his thoughts.

He walked over to the mirror, looking up at his reflection for the first time in a while. Chocolate brown hair, caramel skin, and sad grey eyes, almost brown. He looked at his chest, touching one of his scars gently. He felt the thin beard that masked his true face. He began shaving in silence, watching carefully as with each stroke he felt a little bit better. When he was done, he opened the locker next to Percy's, surprised to find a pair of khaki shorts and an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, a note stuck to the top of the folded pile.

"Hope it fits. Welcome to the family ~ P.J." Micah smiled genuinely, pulling on the clothes and stepping out of the showers. Percy and Annabeth told Micah they were going to give him the tour, and were waiting right outside for him.

"Hey guys, where's Red?" Micah asked.

"She's with Chiron, the camp director, she'll be.." Annabeth stopped mid sentence, shock and emotion all over her face. They both stared at him, mouths hanging open. Annabeth covered her mouth, trying desperately not to cry. She felt like someone had driven a dagger through her heart, and it was easy to understand why. With the beard gone, Micha looked identical to Luke Castellan, except for hair, skin, and eye color. His face was exactly the same as even Percy remembered, minus the scar. Micah looked at them confusedly.

"Whoa… you ok?" he asked Annabeth cautiously, Percy shaking his head and forcing himself to get a grip.

"You… you just look a lot like an old friend of… ours." Percy answered.

"I see." Micah said solemnly, realizing the implications. Percy looked down sadly, confirming Micah's theory.

"He died trying to protect us. He saved us all." Annabeth choked out, Micah carefully put a hand on her shoulder. She slowly reached up and put a hand on his cheek, hoping to feel a scar underneath his eye.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth, but I'm not him." he said gravely. She looked up at him, and smiled. He even made the same facial expressions as Luke, the ones she had learned to read so well.

"It's fine, he's in a better place now." she said shakily, then shook her head. She looked at Micah, embarrassment all over her face as she removed her hand.

"Are you going to be ok, Annabeth?" Percy asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yeah…yeah I'll be fine." she said, taking a breath to steady herself. She turned and faced him once again. It was going to be hard getting used to seeing that face again. She smiled and wiped away a tear or 2. She then looked between them seriously.

"This never happened."She commanded, the two boys looked at each other, eyes wide. No matter what powers you may have, a stare from Annabeth could make all that macho feeling fly right out the window.

"What never happened?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." They said in unison. Rachel suddenly ran up the hill, completely breathless.

"Guys, Chiron needs you now! The scroll just started glowing!" She heaved. They took off down the hill, Micah staying with them until they reached the Big House. The few campers who were there were all just as shocked as Percy and Annabeth were. Not having the time or energy to explain quite yet, they all burst into the Big House, Chirons eyes landed on Micah first.

"Oh my…" Chiron said in shock.

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately. Apparently I'm literally a new man when I shave." Micah explained, Chiron placing the scroll on the table hurriedly. It looked old, but not necessarily ancient, and was pulsing a bright, purple and blue color. He tried to unroll it, but it seemed almost cemented shut. Chiron reached out, holding it out to Micah.

"I believe the Lyte has to open it." Chiron explained, Micah's expression hardening.

"Ok..." Micah said nervously as he took the scroll. A bright flash of light pulsed out through the building, then settled down. When Micah could bear looking at it, he read the scroll aloud.

_**A darkness grows down deep below,**_

_**An evil gods hoped never know**_

_**The 7 of old and 3 of new **_

_**Will be the 10, the chosen few**_

_**Primordial Evil they must weather**_

_**Their only hope is fight together.**_

They all sat in silence for a moment, shocked by the revelation.

"Hang on a second; what?" Micah asked, clearly more than a bit shaken by this bombshell. Chiron began pacing the floor, and Percy just leaned up against one of the support beams, looking like a deer in headlights.

"Another war… not another war." He whispered, Annabeth pulling him into a tight hug.

"This was supposed to be our summer, Annabeth," His voice cracked as he spoke, Annabeth hugging him even tighter.

"I know, Percy; but we can't change that now. We have to fight. It's what we do." She explained calmly, Percy sighing and standing straight, nodding. He took in a deep breath, steadying himself before looking over at Chiron, who looked every bit as heartbroken at the news as Percy.

"Chiron, I think we know who the seven of old are. The original seven heroes of prophecy." Percy stated. Annabeth nodded, pulling out her cell phone.

"I'll contact Reyna, and relay the news." She explained, stepping outside. Micah just stood there expressionless, the scroll dangling by his side.

"Hey, man; are you ok?" Percy asked. Micah didn't say a word, simply putting the scroll down and walking outside.

"- Yeah, Jason and Pip- Hang on, I'll call you back in a few." Annabeth ended prematurely when she saw Micah walking towards Half-Blood Hill. Percy burst through the door, a confused look on his face.

"Micah, where you going?" Percy yelled. Micah didn't even turn around, continuing to walk towards the exit.

"Anywhere but here." Micah replied, Percy jogging over to him.

"What does that mean?" Percy asked accusingly. Micah still continued walking, refusing to slow down.

"I told you that I would come and see what this was all about. I didn't sign up for getting everyone here into some massive war." He explained. Percy stepped in front of him, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder, stopping him dead in his tracks. Annabeth could practically see the power radiating off of them as she watched the entire ordeal unfold.

"You're abandoning us? Really?" Percy asked in disbelief.

"I'm not… No. If I'm not here, the Prophecy can't be fulfilled, and the world stays Primordial power free." Micah explained, shrugging Percy's hand off of his shoulder. Percy seemed relieved that Micah wasn't just running because he couldn't stand the pressure.

"Micah, that's not how Prophecies work… trust me, I wish they did. Once they're set in motion, there is nothing we can do to stop the bad things from happening," Percy held up the scroll, holding it out to Micah.

"Except follow the Prophecy." He finished, Micah reaching out and taking the scroll.

"I'm not a leader, Percy; I've been on my own for years. I don't do too well with teams." Micah explained, Percy placing a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about that kind of leading, Micah; trust me, the people we have with us are vets; they know what to do on quests." Percy reassured. Micah still looked confused and in turmoil.

"I need to blow off some steam… You guys have a jogging track or something?" He asked, Annabeth stepping forwards.

"Actually, when we were heading back to camp, I made a few calls, and had the Hephaestus kids whip something up for you; come on… I'll show you." She explained, Percy and Micah following her towards the newly built training facility.


	9. Chapter 9: Speed Demon

Annabeth led them all to the giant training center. It had been built after the war with Gaea to ensure the next generation of heroes would be well equipped for any task that may arise. Now, as Micah walked in, the air even smelled new. They had all sorts of training equipment, making the place look much like a local gym.

"Welcome to the training center. We've got everything you'll need to blow off some steam. Come with me." She led him to an area in the back of the building. It looked like an elongated indoor gun range, with a bullseye at one end. Annabeth pointed at the bullseye.

"You stand down there." she said.

"Why?" He questioned, Annabeth just turning and staring at him. He sighed annoyedly, clearly not liking the fact that she wouldn't tell him.

"Or don't tell me. That works too." He mumbled as he slowly walked to the far end of the tunnel, until he stood about 200 yards away from Annabeth, and only inches away from the target. To her immediate left was rack of almost every kind of ancient Greek weapon known to man; a bow and quiver, swords, knives, and even a crossbow. She reached over, picking a tiny rubber push dagger.

"These are rubber daggers," Annabeth explained, her voice echoing down the corridor.

"They are designed to be just as heavy and fast as the real deal, but a little less...pointy." she loaded one into a machine that looked like an automatic baseball pitcher.

"This machine is designed to shoot these daggers at you at various speeds. But for you, I'm setting it on top speed" she yelled across the room. Micah suddenly appeared in front of her, a gust of wind blowing in her face.

"Why am I so far away?" he asked. She shrugged.

"This is actually designed to be a spear throwing tunnel but I thought it would suit our purposes. Micah looked at her in disbelief.

"Your idea of training is chucking knives-"

"Rubber knives" She corrected. Micah shook his head, realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere with her until he simply humored her.

"And you want me to, what? Catch it?" He asked, Annabeth nodding as though she had made that obviously clear, Micah letting out a long sigh in annoyance.

"Sure, blonde; why not? Whenever you're ready." He said sarcastically, zooming back over to the other end. Annabeth waited a few seconds, then pushed a button. What sounded like a cannon going off rang through the building, firing a single rubber blade. Time seemed to slow down around Micah as the harmless dagger seemed to come to a stop mid air. Micah walked over and grabbed it. All Annabeth and Rachel saw was Micah suddenly appear in front of them, holding the dagger not 5 feet away from Annabeth.

"Ta-da." Micah said unenthusiastically.

"Whoa. That was awesome." Rachel stated. Annabeth was still stunned, looking at the screen next to the tunnel, her eyes wide as she refreshed the screen, then refreshed it again to be sure.

"Do...do you have any idea how fast you were just moving?" she asked as she looked at the computer screen on top of the table.

"Yeah. Fast." He stated simply, Annabeth looking at him with near-disgust.

"Do you have any idea how much of an understatement that is?" She practically yelled, Micah crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"No, but I'm sure you'll enlighten me." He said sarcastically, making Rachel chuckle a bit, but Annabeth was too busy on a roll.

"The computer says that it took you .0005 seconds to move 200 yards!" She exclaimed. Micah didn't move an inch, clearly not understanding what she was getting at.

"If you can move 200 yards in .0005 seconds, that is the equivalent of moving 400,000 yards per second! Converting that to miles per hour that's…" She paused for a moment, closing her eyes and doing the math.

"That's 818,182,000 miles per hour!" She looked at him dumbfounded. Micah just blinked twice.

"So… fast." He claimed, Annabeth groaning and stomping off in another direction.

"Ugh! How are you so frustrating!?" She asked, Micah shrugging and following her.

"I don't know; naturally I suppose." He answered, smirking like a little kid as she led him

to what looked like a futuristic treadmill.

"Oooh shiny." He said sarcastically.

"I asked the Hephaestus cabin to make this while we were driving here. It's a treadmill that feeds off of the equal but opposite energy you give off when you run, essentially making it so that it can go however fast you can." She finished, Micah blowing raspberries at her as he stepped on the treadmill

"I'd like to see this thing try and keep up! What's the max speed this thing can clock?" he asked. Annabeth shrugged.

"Don't know." she pointed to a set of stop lights. "Red is stop, yellow is jog or half speed, green is everything you've got. Understand?" Micah nodded, so Annabeth and Rachel stepped behind a tiny little control panel built into another white table. She hit the yellow button, and Micah started jogging. At first he looked like a normal guy, and his speed told a similar story. He was clocking in at 25 mph, when suddenly he just started picking up. He went faster and faster, until he was just a blur of a human, bathed in purple light. He hit 768 mph, and a tiny sonic boom caused both girls to jump. He kept accelerating, until in a matter of seconds he went from 768 mph to 768,000 mph. He held it to within 3 mph of that speed for 10 minutes.

"Ok, Speedy, lets see how fast you can really go." Annabeth muttered to herself. She hit the green, and the speed instantly went from 769,000 soaring up to 1,987,000 and climbing, the instruments stopped reading, and a loud explosion went off, followed by crashing sounds. Rachel pointed in horror to the remains of the exploded treadmill, as well as the giant hole in the wall behind them.

"Oh gods…." Annabeth said fearfully. She and Rachel ran outside and looked into the forest to see a line of trees split in half as far as the eye could see. Rachel took off into the forest, and Annabeth ran to get Chiron. On the way, who should she bump into but Percy.

"Hey, whoa Wise Girl slow down! Where's Micah and Rachel?" he asked. Annabeth merely pointed at the destruction behind them. Percy instantly hardened his expression

"Let's go." he said as they both took off to get Chiron.

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When Micah finally opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was red spots in his vision. He tried to sit up, only to realize he couldn't. He looked down at his body, and had to instantly look away. His body looked, well, exactly what you would expect a body vaulted at 2,000,000 mph through an innumerable amount of trees to look like. Smushed and bloody. Mostly bloody.

"Well, this sucks." he said with a little less care than most. He heard rustling, and Rachel screaming his name. She burst into the clearing, Micah calling out to her before she reached him.

"Red, don't look… don't… you looked." He sighed at the end, Rachel staring at him. She was somewhere between convulsing and bursting into tears when Chiron, Annabeth, and Percy caught up. Annabeth covered her mouth in horror, while Percy panicked

"Oh man, just….just hang in there ok? I'll go get help." Percy exasperated as he was about to run back to camp

"That won't be necessary." Micah said a little too calmly, grunting as he spoke.

'This is the part that sucks' he whispered to himself. Percy and Annabeth had seen things they thought would haunt them forever. But even Tartarus did not match the disgustingness of what they witnessed next. Micah's body somehow started coming back together. His arms snapping and grinding back into place, his neck popping straight again. His legs squished and scraped back into place, his vertebrae each making a sickening snap as they wretched back together forcefully. His splintered legs ground back together, and the giant gashes all over his body slowly healed, until all that remained of the aforementioned bloodbath was a giant puddle of blood where he once lay, and a giant scar on his now-bare chest. They all stood abhorred at what they had just witnessed.

"Ok that hurt pretty good," Micah said tiredly. "Hey blonde; your treadmill broke." He stated smirking a little bit as he twisted his neck, the bones snapping and popping sickeningly. Percy was the first to speak.

"Um, well… why don't we get you to the sick bay and have you checked out?" he whispered, still shocked. Micah shook his head

"Won't be necessary, Jackson... got any food in this place? I starving." Micah stretched his 'new' body. He looked at his clothes, his shirt completely gone and his shorts barely covering him.

"First clothes, then food." he said strategically. Percy nodded.

"Yeah… yeah sure. Let's get you some clothes. Percy and Micah walked back to camp, leaving Annabeth to ponder what they had just witnessed. Rachel was too busy emptying the contents of her stomach behind a tree. Annabeth's thoughts were interrupted by her phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID; Superboy. Jason. She answered the phone slowly, shaking the image of Micah's recovery out of her head.

"Hey Jason."

"Annabeth hey! Reyna wanted to let you know that she got your message; we're heading over tomorrow to find out what's going on." He explained.

"Yeah… ok see you then." She said in a daze, still staring at the crater that had just been Micah. She had seen a lot of powerful demigods in her days, but to get up and walk away from that… she was left wonder just what Micah Lyte really was.


	10. Chapter 10: Wine and Worries

Annabeth, Chiron, and Rachel all walked back to camp together, Annabeth questioning Chiron about Micah.

"I've never seen anything like it. He… he should have been…"

"Dead? Yes… even a demigod should have died from an accident like that" He commented. Rachel played with the ruby necklace still around her neck, thinking about what she had just witnessed. It wasn't human… or natural. When they got to the Mess Hall, they were greeted by another unbelievable sight: Micah eating. Around him were stacked at least 20 plates, all cleaned off thoroughly. Percy spotted them and waded through the crowd, then helped the girls to the table. Micah noticed them and simply nodded. Clarisse stepped up to them, jaw hanging.

"Please tell me that's not who I think it is." she growled. The two shook their heads, Micah looking up at Clarisse.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine." He said sarcastically, Percy and Annabeth having to physically keep her from getting up and trying to pound Micah's face back into meat.

"That's not him, Clarisse. Trust me, the same thing went through my head when I saw him, but it's not Luke." Percy reassured. They all sat next to Micah as he consumed inhuman amounts of food. Seeing Annabeth's expression, he answered her unspoken question.

"Super enhanced regeneration. Only works in life-or-death situations, and takes up a heck of a lot of energy. So, yeah, after a huge heal I get extremely hungry. And I can't run as fast until my blood sugar levels are back up to par." he slurred between bites. He ate at least 20 more plates, shocking everyone there. When he was finished, he stood up and walked outside.

"I'm gonna go for a walk, clear my head. Thanks for the training; you sure know how to show a guy a good time." he said over his shoulder to Annabeth as he walked out, the door slamming behind him, causing a momentary silence to fill the room. A few seconds later, everything went back to normal.

"Does he realize that's…" Clarisse started.

"Against camp rules? Yeah, no I don't think he does. I'll talk to him." Percy said cooly. He followed Micah out, only to find he was long gone. Percy looked around, then sighed.

"So much for slowing down for a while." he said to himself as he walked back inside to eat. After they all ate, they finally had some free time. The night air was crisp and fresh, the camp falling into a rare state of calm and quiet as all the campers were preparing themselves for bed. Percy and Annabeth looked around for Micah, finally having some alone time while they walked. For a while, neither one of them said anything, until Annabeth broke the ice.

"So, what's bugging you?" She asked. Percy had learned a long time ago that lying to her served literally no purpose as she could see right through him.

"More quests, more prophecies, prophecies that have to do with us… when it was supposed to be our time to relax and take it easy. Being the perpetual workhorse of the gods." He admitted looking over at her.

"You?" He asked. She sighed loudly, and Percy knew that could only mean one thing.

"I'm fine." she said after a few moments. Percy looked at her in disbelief.

"Come one, Wise Girl, you know I know you better than that. Talk to me." he said, throwing his arm over her shoulder. He used his trump card: Percy's Puppy Face. It worked every time. She sighed and rolled her eyes, unable to hide the tiny smile appearing on her face.

"Ok, so maybe I'm not completely ok…" she admitted.

"It's just… it's hard, you know? I'd finally moved on from the past… and then Micah shows up, and of course he has to look just like Luke… I can't help but hurt a little." She said, the emotion evident in her voice. She took a second to compose herself before continuing.

"I mean, there are some differences; gods, I don't remember Luke being so sarcastic and rude! But… but the way he walks, the expressions he makes… it's almost like he really is Luke." She said, a single tear trailing down her cheek before she could stop it.

"Hey," Percy said softly, tilting her head up to meet his. He gently put a hand on her cheek and wiped the stray tear.

"I know its hard, trust me I know. But you aren't alone, and neither am I. We've got each other, Annabeth. And I promise, we'll get through this together." he whispered softly. This time, she squeezed him, burying her face in his chest.

"You're a total Seaweed Brain… but you're all I'll ever need." she whispered back. He smiled and kissed her gently. After a few moments she stepped back. She merely looked at him, and he smiled.

"This goes nowhere?" he chuckled

"Absolutely not." she giggled right back. Percy extended his hand, and she took it. They walked hand in hand, searching for their new friend.

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Micah sat on the roof of the Big House, overlooking the whole camp. He had a lot to think about. Just last week he was travelling the world, with nothing and no one to care about; now, he was sitting in a camp full of kids who were depending on him, whether they knew it or not. In a way, Micah still wanted to run away from this prophecy, and save his friends from having to go through so much pain and agony. All he wanted was for all their lives to go back to normal. But another part of him knew that this entire thing really was inevitable; even if he did try and run from it, he would probably just be making things worse. Micah took off his ring, which morphed into his sword, which he examined as he thought. All of his life, Micah had wanted to help others, and for the most part he had. From saving an old man from getting hit by a car, to rescuing babies from burning buildings; Micah had done it all, and the entire time managed to stay completely off the radar. He had travelled all around the world, learning a plethora of different skills which he used to take out mythological threats… but nothing compared to the task that was now laid before him. A Primordial power? That sounded like something that was way out of his league. But it didn't really look like he had much of a choice in the matter anyways… It seemed that his best course of action would be to help out Percy and his friends on their quest. Micah stood up, brushing himself off and walking around, trying to find the rest of the spotted the entire camp sitting around some weird looking campfire, singing what sounded to be modified versions of classic campfire songs. Micah decided to wait just outside until Chiron announced it was time to prepare for bed, and the mass of campers started piling out. Percy spotted him and jogged over, a large smile on his face.

"Hey man we looked all over for you! You ok?" he asked. Micah nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just needed some time." Just then, Dionysus walked by on his way back to his office. As soon as he saw Micah, he spewed out the Diet Coke in his mouth, looking at Micah with awe and horror.

"You...you're the Lyte… OUR Lyte! That means that…. Oh crap no!" Micah looked at Dionysus, then at Chiron.

"Ok… who's the fat drunk dude?" Micah questioned.

"Our Camp Director, Mr. D," Chiron said, the tone in his voice making it clear to watch what he said around the man. Micah got a weird feeling when he looked at Mr. D; Annoyance. He kept it at bay as best he could

"That means what Mr. D? What does me being here mean?" Dionysus started to sweat, and looked around. He leaned in real close, Micah able to smell the stench of Diet Coke on his breath

"Look, Peter and I,"

"Percy. You...you know it's Percy" Percy said in disbelief, Dionysus waving his comment off.

"Yeah him too. Look, we go way back, so I'll tell you this. You being here means one thing and one thing only, kid. War. It means that…" Dionysus was cut off by the eruption of thunder overhead.

"ALRIGHT ALREADY GEEZ!" He screamed at the sky, then sighed.

"Look kids, this ain't like Kronos and Gaea. This is worse. Far far worse. That's all the big guy'll let me say right now." he started to walk away, when he turned to the group once more

"You take care of yourself, Micah. We'll be watching." With that, Dionysus seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving them with a little more knowledge of the horror to come.


	11. Chapter 11: Truth Be Told

That night, as Micah slept on a futon in the Big House's spare room, he had a horrific nightmare. He was floating in a dark void in the middle of nowhere, alone, the emptiness of the chasm penetrating his bones, and depression his mind. Every thought he could conjure up was only suffering continually. It was the definition of agony. From this depth, a voice rang throughout.

"That's right, boy; breathe it in. This is where your so-called 'friends' will lead you. This is how it ends for you unless you leave well enough alone. There is no stopping me, child. Gods and men alike have begged for this judgement for millennia; and I am the bringer of their Salvation. I will be their cleansing waters of destruction. And if you dare challenge me, this is where you are destined to be. Now go: make your choice. But for the rest of the endless eternity you will spend suffering, you will never be able to say you weren't warned." The Darkness bellowed at Micah. For a split second, Micah could feel its presence. It felt like the incarnation of mayhem and disorder. And it was overwhelming. Its sheer power made Micah feel like he was going crazy.

"Who are you?" Micah yelled out with all he could muster. He could almost feel the Dark force laughing at his powerlessness.

"Soon." It responded ominously. Micah felt his head spin, his very thoughts warring against one another, driving him farther and farther into madness, until suddenly jolted up in a cold sweat, the things words still swirling around in his head. He felt for his ring, and felt a little better when he felt is on his finger. He sat up and rubbed his face tiredly.

'Well, THAT sure helps my decision.' he thought hopelessly. His thoughts were racing a thousand miles an hour as he thought over the nightmare. Whatever that thing was, it was powerful; more powerful than anything Micah had ever encountered. He could only describe the presence he felt as all-encompassing; no matter where he ran, or how well he hid, Micah knew that there was no escaping this creature. He knew right away that it must be the Primordial power they are warring against; its power was different; unending, untameable, raw power. He was left to think about what he would do next. He couldn't run… the only other option was, what… fight it? That even sounded crazy in his head, but right now, it was his only option. With this thought still in the back of his mind, Micah laid back down and slowly drifted into a dreamless slumber.

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Percy woke up and stretched, looking out the window to see brilliant sunrays coming through… right into his eyes. He was about to roll over and go back to sleep, when he remembered that he had a meeting with Camp Jupiter that morning.

'Crap.' he mumbled as he hurried to get ready as fast as he could. He ran to the Big House and found Micah just coming outside. He wore a brand new camp shirt and khaki shorts that Chiron had supplied him with the night before.

"Hey, Micah! You ready to go?" Percy asked. Micah simply nodded, gesturing for Percy to lead the way. Apparently, Annabeth had talked to both Jason and Reyna on the phone, and explained the situation. Needless to say, they both found the prophecy more than a little bit worrisome, and had agreed to get the seven back together at Camp Half-Blood to talk things over. Percy had gotten ahold of Leo, who was as of currently flying his way back to Camp on Festus, and should arrive at about the same time as the others. In a way, Percy was happy to see all of his old friends again; with the adventures they had shared, he truly considered them a part of his family. In another way, Percy had wished that when they got back together, it would be something more like a 4th of July barbecue; with he and Jason playing cornhole, and Leo charing all of their food beyond recognition in his 'This Chef is On Fire… No Seriously, Someone Get the Hose' apron. The last thing Percy expected was for them to meet up to go on another perilous, potentially life-ending quest. By the time he and Micah made it to the beach, Annabeth was already standing there with Piper, Jason, Reyna, Frank, and Hazel. Percy called out to them, waving. The group made their way over to him, Annabeth glaring at them unhappily.

"You're late." She said, the annoyance clear in her voice. Micah didn't really seem to care, scoffing and rolling his eyes.

"Oh, boy; a whole 4 minutes and…" He pretended to look at a watch on his wrist.

"27 seconds late! Whatever shall we do?" He finished snidely, Annabeth marching over to him.

"Well, for your information, being punctual is a very important skill to have, one that my boyfriend as of currently lacks. And it was 6 minutes late, Speedy." She spat angrily, clearly not used to people treating her the way he did. He simply smirked and leaned down a bit, staring her right in the eyes.

"Well, I'm sure other people would find this little display very frightening, but all I can think to say is someone's not a morning person." He stated snidely, Percy literally having to hold her back from trying to deck him in the face. Micah turned around, brushing the sand off of his shirt and examining the others, one by one. If he was completely honest, he expected more. He thought for sure all of them would radiate the same awesome power as Percy, but only one of them really gave off that vibe. The tall, Asian kid looked tough as nails; like someone you would not want to mess with… until Micah looked at his face. He looked like a teddy bear's face plastered onto a muscle builder body. Next to him was a short, dark haired and skinned girl. Though she might not have looked like much, Micah had a feeling that there was more to her than meets the eye. Next was a Native American girl, who honestly didn't really strike Micah as the powerful killer type, more of the diplomat. Next to her was a boy who literally looked like a Ken Doll; blonde hair, electric blue eyes, and a stance that screamed "I'm in charge here." Micah whistled lowly, taking it all in.

"So… you're the guys who defeated Gaea?" He asked, almost as though he didn't believe it, but hiding the doubt. Ken Doll was the first to speak, affirming Micah's leader suspicion.

"Yep, that's us; Though, it was kind of a joint effort with the gods." The blonde boy admitted, sticking out his hand, which Micah took. The kid had a strong, firm grip. Micah could instantly tell that this guy was powerful.

"I'm Jason; and this is Piper, Hazel, Frank, and the girl talking to Annabeth is Reyna." Jason introduced them, Micah waving. He hadn't seen Reyna before; she was standing behind him helping calm down a steaming Annabeth. Her tanned skin and straight, raven black hair, and searching black eyes gave her a look of both authority and discipline. Micah was instantly struck by an odd feeling of familiarity when he saw her, but couldn't figure out why. He waved to her as well, smirking at Annabeth when he saw her glaring daggers at him. She honestly looked more angry that Micah was able to make her explode than at what he had actually said, taking a deep breath and calming herself down.

"Micah. Nice to meet-"

"WAIT!" A voice cried out from the sky, everyone turning to see a giant, metal dragon making its descent. Micah just stared at it blankly, blinking.

"A giant metal dragon. Sure, why the heck not." He said to himself. Clearly this wasn't the weirdest thing he had ever seen. Leo hopped off of Festus before he landed, rushing over to the group. He stopped in front of Micah, heaving and wheezing as he did, sticking out his hand.

"Leo… Valdez, MD." Leo introduced, everyone rolling their eyes. Some people really never change.

"Micah Lyte." He replied, Reyna and Jason looking over to Percy in shock.

"He's not-" Jason began, Micah groaning and whipping around, clearly sick of being asked over and over.

"Yes, Ken; I am THE Lyte." He interrupted, Jason looking confused as Percy tried not to laugh, half way between enlightened and hysteria.

"You-I-... Why'd you call me Ken?" He asked. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, Percy bursting out laughing.

"I can't believe…. I didn't see it earlier!" Percy admitted, Leo realizing what Micah meant as well, his eyes growing wide, as was his smirk.

" O. . Jason… you DO look like Ken!" He stated, clearly stunned. Jason simply stood there, clearly not understanding.

"Who's Ken?" He asked, making the others join in laughing. Jason whipped around, oblivious to the joke. He took in a deep breath, sighing loudly.

"Ok, let's just… focus here." He said, everyone calming down. Jason was right; they needed to focus.

"So, what about this prophecy that we're in? Do you guys have it?" Jason asked, Annabeth reaching into her laptop bag and pulling out the scroll, handing it to Jason. He opened it up, looking it over silently before rolling it back up and giving it back to Annabeth.

"Yep, it's pretty cut and dry." He admitted disappointedly. No one there was looking forward to war or quests, but what choice did they have? Just then Calypso made her way over to the group, freezing the moment she laid eyes on Micah, looking like a deer in headlights.

"Oh please no." She groaned, obviously not pleased in the slightest. Micah tensed up, any trace of joy wiped from his face when he saw her standing there.

"Oh great. You." He said as unenthusiastically and dry as he possibly could. She looked about the same as Micah sounded; unenthusiastic and dry, Leo looking shocked.

"Wait, you know this guy?" He asked Calypso, Micha butting in.

"I'm gonna go get some air." He said unhappily walking down the beach, Calypso stomping down the other. The group looked at one another, Percy beginning to walk towards Micah, until Reyna stopped him.

"I'll talk to him. You just explain this quest to the others." She said, walking down the beach after Micah. Reyna felt the same feeling of familiarity when she had first seen Micah… like they had met somewhere before, but she just couldn't place it. It wasn't long until she caught up with him as he strolled down the beachside. He was surprised to see her walking next to him, neither one talking for a while, until Reyna broke the ice.

"Nice day." She said, looking out over the sea. Micah didn't look angry at her presence; more so confused than anything. They fell into another silence, this time Micah being the icebreaker.

"Not that I mind the company, but why did you follow me out here?" He asked, taking Reyna by surprise. If she was being honest, she had no idea why she offered to come talk to him; they had just met, and had not yet even exchanged words, and yet here she was.

"Because you looked like you could use a friend." she finally said. He stopped walking and turned to face her looking her right in the eyes. She felt like he was searching her very soul for the answers he wanted, which made the whole ordeal kind of uncomfortable. After what felt like an eternity, he looked away, taking a seat on a nearby rock and looking out over the ocean.

"You've seen a lot of pain in your life, huh?" he asked. She felt herself getting nervous for reasons she couldn't explain.

"I suppose. When you've lived through a war with Mother Earth, you see plenty of pain"

"That's not the kind of pain I'm talking about." he said softly. Reyna couldn't help her eyes quickly darting to Jason. Micah noticed the gesture, a tiny smirk growing on his face.

"So, Ken broke your heart, huh? I didn't really take him for the kind of guy who goes around playing women." Micah admitted

'Who IS this guy?' she wondered.

"What? N-no, it wasn't like that!" She insisted, Micah raising an eyebrow at her curious, clearly not believing her for one second.

"So, what happened between you and Calypso?" She asked, Micah's expression returning to that blank, calloused look he had before, Reyna instantly kicking herself for being so abrasive.

"I mean, if you don't wanna talk about it, I-" She was cut off mid sentence as he began to tell her the story.

"3 years ago in Los Angeles, I was fighting some giant, 1 eyed monster. Beast was one of the slowest creatures I have ever encountered in my life; it was all too easy… until he turns to a little girl standing nearby. I knew what would happen next; I barely got in front of his sword in time." Micah recalled, looking out over the waves.

"He got a cheap shot on me, and I blacked out. When I woke up, I was on a beach. With her." he pointed to Calypso.

"She helped me recover back to full health, and we became friends...and even more. Then she asked me to stay. At first, I was hesitant, but deep down, I knew the world had nothing for me; all I ever did was run and run every day, and on that island, I felt as though I could finally… rest. Like the race was over. So I said yes. At first, she seemed extremely happy; until I started… moving." he said sadly. Reyna looked over at him with a very confused look.

"Moving, what do…." Reyna started. Micah simply held out his arm, and vibrated his hand. It went so fast it started to steam, and sounded like an electric back massager. Reyna was shocked; she had never seen a demigod with superhuman speed before. Micah continued his story, clearly trying his best to keep his emotions at bay.

"She tried to 'apologize', telling me that she didn't know I was Olympus' Chosen, and that we couldn't be together because I had a 'greater destiny to fulfill'. By then I understood what she really meant; she wanted me to leave the island after all. So I did, hoping to never see her again. Now, here she is, and of course she's with some other guy… makes me wonder what exactly was so wrong with me." he finished, hurt in his voice. He stood up and tried to force a smile, stretching.

"But hey; that's not your problem. We just met; I shouldn't be unloading on you like that." He admitted. He walked to the ocean shore, gazing out over it for a moment before sitting in the sand, his feet barely touching the water. Reyna waited for a moment, thinking about what he had just told her. She really did not at all understand why he would just open up to her like he had, but in all honesty, it felt… really nice. With her hardened look and near-hostile demeanor, most people tried to avoid her more than anything, especially when it came to opening up about how they felt. She stood up, her feet carrying her as she walked over to where Micah was sitting, taking a seat in the sand next to him. She took a deep breath, then spoke.

"It was at the beginning of the titan war. Before it had begun, Jason and I were both praetors of Camp Jupiter, a roman Half-Blood camp. We were very good friends, and one night, he asked me if I would like to go on a walk with him, so I agreed. We… we stopped on a hill, and laid back, looking at the stars, just naming every constellation we saw for hours. Just when I thought the night couldn't get any better, he… he kissed me, and I thought I had finally found the one. Then he disappeared, taken by Juno to help bring our 2 camps together against Gaea. He had his memory completely wiped, so he didn't even remember me or Camp Jupiter. When he finally came back, he was with Piper. I...I couldn't believe it. But I tried so hard to push it down, let it go, tried to forget. Until now, I guess." she finished, tears in her eyes. She refused to cry, she wouldn't. Micah stood up and extended his hand to help her. She took and stood as well.

"I guess we've both been hurt, huh?" he asked no one in particular. "Reyna, You know it's not a crime to cry. I do sometimes." he admitted. He looked at her and smiled lightly, swiping at her eyes.

"Not when your a praetor, Micah. I have to stay strong; if I'm not, how can the others be?" She asked, Micah, sitting back.

"Reyna, I have to disagree. You seem to think that, just because you are in a position of authority, that it means you need to hide your emotions; I believe just the opposite. You have to let your emotions out, especially when others are looking up to you. They need to see that, just because you are hurting or depressed or sad, doesn't mean that your aren't strong. That just because you are hurting and sad and depressed does not mean that you can't or won't press on; That these feelings are completely normal, and shouldn't be hidden. The truly strong people are those who aren't afraid to put themselves out there, and let others see and know how they are feeling, not the ones who keep their emotions bottled up, that just makes you bitter and miserable. But if you are strong enough to let others see you when you're weak, that is true, deep inner strength; the kind that never goes away, and the same kind that a leader needs to instill. You have a responsibility to not only show that yes, you do hurt and cry, but also how to move on from and even grow despite those challenges; to teach others how to rise up and seize the day, to move on from the hurt instead of just keeping it all in. That's a lesson all leaders should teach" He said. Reyna was completely floored by his comment, just sitting there and letting it soak in. In all her days as a praetor, she had never once heard anyone talk to her and correct her so thoroughly. She looked over and saw Jason talking and laughing with Piper, not thinking as she reached over and took Micah's hand, squeezing it tightly as she felt the tears returning to her eyes. Finally, after nearly a year of keeping it all bottled up, she cried. For the first time since she saw Jason with Piper, she genuinely cried. She could feel all the pent up anger and hurt pour out with each tear. After a few moments, she felt herself calming down, and she honestly felt much,much better just getting it out. She realized she was holding onto Micah's hand, quickly letting go and wiping her eyes.

"Thanks, Micah; for everything." She said with a small smile, Micah simply nodding. She looked over at the others, hoping they hadn't noticed. Micah followed her gaze, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No worries, Reyna; I won't tell a soul." he promised. They walked back to the group together, Reyna wondering just who this guy really was, and why he seemed so familiar. They had almost reached them, when a sickening scream pierced the air. Micah looked over to Percy, who nodded. Together, the group charged towards the forest to find out just what was causing all the fear and panic.


	12. Chapter 12: Making Teamwork Work

When the group finally burst into the clearing, they were met with the horrific sight of a young, ten year old girl fallen on the ground, pointing and screaming at a giant monstrosity that was absolutely devastating the forest. The creature looked like something straight out of a nightmare; with fifty swinging arms and a hundred beady eyes watching everywhere at once. The creature advanced towards the girl, raising one of its giant feet, poised to crush her into the dirt. In a sudden gust of wind, Micah sped over and grabbed her just as the monster stomped into the ground, flashing back over in a purple and blue blur and setting the frightened camper down away from the battle. She was clearly frozen in shock from the whole ordeal, Micah smiling kindly at her.

"Hey, little lady; you ok?" He asked, the girl nodding slowly.

"Ok; stay here. We'll take care of this guy." He promised, speeding back over to the group. Everyone who hadn't seen Micah run looked shocked when he returned.

"Whoa dude…. Awesome! You're, like… Quicksilver!" He cried, Micah looking over at him in disbelief, scoffing.

"Quicksilver wishes he were me." He stated, Leo's grin growing ever wider at the comment. He looked over at the others, gesturing towards Micah.

"I like this guy!" He admitted, though his praise was shortened as the giant beast bellowed out at them angrily. Percy stepped forwards, doing his best to look confident despite the situation.

"You don't belong here; leave this camp: NOW!" Percy commanded. The creature's face contorted into what must have been some kind of a twisted smile, pointing one of its unkempt fingers at Micah.

"Not without him. The Lyte must die." It's bass voice rang through the forest, Micah smirking at the comment.

"Sorry, Blobby; I prefer living." He yelled. The creature roared in anger, everyone backing up a step at the display. Leo looked over at them, raising his eyebrow.

"Oh boy, ladies and gentlemen we've got ourselves a live one here! Time to strike a superhero pose" He exclaimed, doing just that as the others either rolled their eyes or full out groaned at his antics. Jason flipped and caught Islivs as a spear, Percy uncapped Riptide, Micah pulled off Δήμιος, Annabeth drew her dagger, Hazel pulled her spatha out of its sheath, Piper pulled out her blade, Frank drew his bow, and Reyna pulled out a gladius. For a moment, no one moved, until the creature screamed at them once more, propelling Micah into action as he sped in, slashing at the creatures ankles. Frank notched an arrow, nailing the creature in the arm. He primed another, but this time the monster reached out and caught the arrow mid air, snapping it like a toothpick between its gigantic fingers. It reached out and slapped Micah's blurred form, sending his vaulting deep into the forest. Reyna and Hazel charged the left side, Annabeth and Piper took the right, while Jason and Percy kept it distracted from head on. With its mass number of limbs, the creature was able to fight them all from all angles, though they could tell that keeping up with all of them at once was a bit more of a strain than the creature was used to dealing with. Jason suddenly called down a massive thunderbolt, which struck the creature in the head with a resounding clap of thunder. The beast staggered backwards, almost regaining its balance when it was taken by complete surprise when Micah came flying out of the forest, nailing it in the chest with his sword and sending it stumbling once more. The creature seemed more angered than fazed by their little… display, Frank and Leo doing their best to keep it at bay with a volley of arrows and flaming hammers as the others caught their breath. Jason looked up at Micah worriedly.

"Micah that…. Thing just chucked you a...a long way." Jason heaved between breaths.

"You ok?" He finally asked, Micah nodding.

"Oh yeah, never better; sorry it took me so long to get back here. I needed a minute to… get my head on straight." He explained, deciding to leave it at that. Leo looked more panicked than usual.

"Ok, so… I know that sometimes I get in way over my head... But this is ridiculous." He gasped, tossing a hammer over his shoulder, which nailed the already angry beast. Frank shot a not so happy look at him, firing another volley of arrows at the creature.

"Sure, Leo; take a break. I don't mind." He complained, making it abundantly clear that he did care. Leo either didn't realize the sarcasm, or was purposely ignoring it, patting Frank on the shoulder.

"Thanks; my arms were feeling like noodles." He admitted. Percy was the first to stand back up on his feet, looking over at the creature.

"Look, Frank can't hold this thing off for long; we need a plan of attack." He said. Annabeth was next, trying to formulate some kind of plan. Micah looked like he already had something swirling in his head, but they were interrupted when Frank looked over panicked. Micah stood up straight, a blue-purple light emanating from his body, his eyes brighter than ever. He turned and faced the group.

"I'll buy you guys some time; As soon as I get his attention, flank and hit him hard!" He called, speeding off in a burst of light. He sliced and slashed all over the creature, much to its annoyance as it swatted with its many hands. Percy happened to glance over and realize they were standing right next to Zephyros Creek. Percy raised his hand, the river obeying and collecting above him. He swung his arm, a massive fist made of water slamming into the beast with enough force to send it staggering backwards. Jason wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity, flying up into the sky and raising his spear, lightning striking it with a resounding bang, charging the spear. Jason flew down at the creature, driving his spear as deep into its stomach as he could, The creature began convulsing; the water acting as a conductor for the lightning, shocking the creature to its core. Reyna charged in, trying to deal the final blow and end this, but the creature was able to regain enough stability to swipe at her, sending her flying sideways. Micah saw all of this happen in slow motion; Reyna slowly sailing through the air, Jason and Percy's heads turning ever so slowly toward her, and the creature's arm continuing to inch upward. He ran over to Reyna, catching her out of mid air, and setting her down away from the fight. Time returned to normal for Micah, as everything began happening in real time, Reyna's head whipping around as she tried to figure out what had happened, Micah reached out a hand to her, his back turned to the monster.

"You ok?" He questioned, Reyna nodding, taking his hand as he helped her to her feet. He held her sword out to her, and just as she took it, one of the creature's unkempt, gnarly fingernails drove into Micah's left shoulder. He screamed in pain, grabbing at the 3 inch hole that was now in his shoulder. Reyna sliced at the creature, taking off a few of its fingers in the process, then knelt next to Micah. Blood was pouring down his arm, more than even Reyna had ever seen from one wound.

"You need to get to the infirmary; now!" she panicked. Micah shook his head, sweat already beginning to form on his brow from the pain and loss of blood, but he shook it off. Was he in pain? Duh. Was he scared out of his mind? He had a 3 inch, see through hole in his arm; who wouldn't be? But, he also knew that kids like that little girl were living in this camp, and that he couldn't let that monster hurt even a single one.

"No time. We've gotta find a way to stop this thing from destroying the whole camp." He stated firmly, ripping off his shirt and peeling off the sleeve. He spotted a nearby stick, picking it up.

"You may want to look away." He suggested, but before she had time Micah waded up the shirt and shoved it into the hole, crying out in agony as he did. He then took another strip of the cloth, tying it tightly overtop. His face and hands looked extremely clammy, but her shakily stood up.

"Let's go; we've got work to do." He said, taking off yet again, a blur as he slashed and hacked at the creature from below. Leo, on the other hand, had put away his hammer's igniting his hands in flames, a crazed smirk plastered on his face.

"Billy Joel was dead wrong; I so totally started the fire!" He cried, throwing his hands forwards, and bathing the creature in flames. Hazel slid underneath it, using her giant spatha to take a huge chunk into its leg. Annabeth saw her opening.

"Percy! Boost!" she screamed. Percy extended a hand, the river making a ramp of sorts. Annabeth ran up it, surprised by the fact that it felt solid. She jumped off and stabbed the thing in the back, sliding down and creating a giant gash on its back. The 8 regrouped, standing together in front of it.

"Guys, I have a plan. It's a stupid plan, but it's a plan." Micah said. Jason nodded to him understandingly.

"Story of our lives, man" Jason commented, the giant beast interrupting with a massive roar.

"Leo, how hot can you get?" Micah asked. Leo shrugged.

"I got a group of nymphs to join Team Leo once…" he said. Micah gave him an 'idiot-you-best-answer-the-freaking-question-and-stop-trying-to-be-cute-before-I-slap-you' look

"I don't know. Why?" Leo finally answered.

"You and me are gonna create a vacuum. The flames will burn out the oxygen, suffocating it. You spray, I run." he explained. "Everyone else, keep it busy." Leo lit up, Frank by his side.

"I'll keep it off you." he explained. Leo nodded, and started spraying fire onto the monster, while Micah ran around it, a flame tornado rising off the ground, surrounding the creature. Soon, the flame vortex rose well above the monster, Frank skewering any hand that tried to hit them.

"MICAH, YOU'VE GOT TO CLOSE IT OFF!" Jason screamed. Micah ran faster, the flames giving off a purple-blue hue as he did. The top started slowly closing in, and when it was almost closed, Jason shot one more bolt into it, just as it shut, creating a loud bang that threw them all back. When the dust had cleared, they saw the creature still standing there. For a moment it looked unharmed, but soon dropped to its knees and disintegrated into nothing.

"How the heck did that thing get in here?" Leo asked. No one answered.

"I think it's time the Super Friends went all Chuck Norris on this quest"

Leo continued. Micah nodded, his eyes barely opened. Reyna looked at the 'bandage' it was soaked in what she could only assume was blood. Percy looked over to Jason curiously.

"Did you guys pack for a quest?" He asked, Jason shaking his head.

"We were under the assumption we would have time to go back and get our stuff." He admitted, Percy shrugging.

"No big deal; we'll stop by Jupiter before we leave. I'll tell Chiron. Rest up for now, guys. We've got a long road ahead." They all walked towards the Big House, Micah stopping to pick up the girl, who had passed out from pure fear. He took her to the sick bay, staggering weakly the whole way. Reyna, being the only one who saw what had happened, followed. Micah set the girl down gently, as she was just waking up. Her eyes whipped open, and she looked around, eyes wide.

"It's ok… you're ok." Micah slurred weakly. He tried to stand, but fell sideways into the wall. Reyna rushed in, laying him gently on the ground, putting his head in her lap. He was barely conscious.

"Hang on lady, I'll go get Will!" the girl said as she took off running. A few minutes later, Will showed up, along with the other 7.

"I'll be fine… I'm fine." He whispered, his eyes closing.

"He's bleeding out." Reyna said worriedly. Jason, Will, and Percy all picked him up and put him on the table. Will undid the wrapping of Micahs. He looked at him sorrowfully.

"If you can hear me, this is gonna hurt. A lot." Will finished, then grabbed the wad of shirt in the wound and pulled it out. Micah tensed up in pain. Will held out the blood-saturated cloth, Annabeth grabbing the waste basket. The last thing Micah heard before he blacked out was "Ambrosia and Nectar". Then everything went black.


	13. Chapter 13: Long Walks and Worries

Micah could feel his consciousness floating away from his body, a feeling he had never really felt before. It felt like he was floating weightlessly through an endless void of darkness, not able to really see anything. Out of nowhere, he suddenly heard the same booming, gravelly voice as from his dreams, calling out to him.

"Pain and misery, child. Is this what you seek? I warned you not to interfere with my plans, but you would not heed my warning." It whispered. The voice sounded like it came from all around, and made him feel like the fears of every nightmare he had ever had was manifest all at once, swirling around like a whirlpool of despair.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" He screamed, but to no avail.

"You think you can command me? You think that I will heed the commands of a mere child? Gods and men alike cannot stop me, much less a small boy!" The voice bellowed all around. Micah could feel something else joining the crippling fear; intense pain. Micah dropped to the ground as the nightmares all screamed around him, and a feeling that could only be described as pure insanity coursing through every vein in his body.

"Why do you fight me, child? What is there for you to gain?" The voice whispered temptingly. Despite everything, Micah managed to chuckle, albeit a completely fake and forced one at best.

"Well, maybe I just like to spite people." He stated cockily. The pain he had been feeling was multiplied, Micah screaming out at the feeling of his innermost thoughts being invaded by this unknown force.

"Or perhaps this is about your little friends... Look at you." The voice laughed harshly.

"Trying so desperately to find somewhere you belong, when we both know no such place exists. Even among the children of the gods, you are an outcast. No matter how hard you try, Micah Lyte you will never be like them." The voice insisted. Micah clutched at his head, dropping to his knees. He tried to fight the rising feeling of insanity.

"Your attempts to resist me are futile. You are but an ant, struggling under the boot of a giant." The voice insisted.

"Won't...stop me… from trying." Micah managed to say, the dark force laughing.

"I was hoping you'd say that." It admitted, increasing his pain even more as he fought against whatever the darkness was.

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Micah had been out for about 4 days, laying on the infirmary table in the sick bay. The little girl he had rescued came by to visit him every day, but was there and gone quickly. The other 7 had also made it a point to visit, not able to leave until Micah recovered… if he recovered. What really shocked all of them was the Reyna of all people insisted on staying by his side the whole time. She sat in a recliner Will had pulled out of a nearby closet, claiming it was used by Annabeth on the multiple occasions Percy was in the infirmary. Reyna hadn't moved much from the chair for the past few days, simply sitting there and watching Micah. Every one of the 7 found this very, very odd to say the least. Reyna wasn't known for her 'overwhelming compassion'; she was a Roman praetor, and it showed in the way she carried herself. But for some reason, she seemed compelled to sit there and take care of Micah, a person who she had just met 5 days ago. Regardless, no one dared ask her about it, in fear of the backlash that may come, so they all elected not to mention it to her. Reyna knew why she was there; there was something so familiar about Micah… she felt as though she already knew him. When she saw his superhuman speed, it clicked something in her brain. She knew she had met him before, but she couldn't for the life of her remember where. Sleep for her had been sparse the past few days, and with everything around her quiet and peaceful, Reyna began slowly drifting to sleep. She was jolted awake when she heard Micah's body tense up sweat pouring down his face. She stood up quickly, placing her palm on his forehead, her eyes widening. He was burning up. Reyna ran outside, spotting a nearby camper walking by.

"Hey!" She commanded. When Reyna spoke, people listened. Case and point, the boy jogged over curiouly.

"Go get Will Solace. Now!" She said, the boy nodding and taking off. Reyna went back into the infirmary to find Micah thrashing around, mumbling incoherently. She grabbed a nearby rag, turning on the cold water in the sink. She placed the wet rag on his forehead, wiping away some of the sweat. A few moments later, Will flew into the room, clearly concerned. He removed the rag, feeling Micah's forehead. He pulled out a flashlight, lifting Micah's eyelids and shining the light on his eyes.

"Something's wrong. He's going into shock." He explained

"Reyna, Get me 5 ml of Norepinephrine." he commanded

"Top shelf, right corner." he instructed. She grabbed the bottle, and put 5ml into a hypodermic needle. She handed the needle to Will, who injected it into Micah's arm. He started to settle down, and Will let out a sigh. He used a cool cloth, and wiped Micah's brow. He turned to Reyna

"He should be fine now." he looked Reyna up and down, clearly unhappy.

"Which is less than I can say for you. Why don't you go rest, Reyna, I'll take over watching him. She shook her head.

"Im fine, Will. Thanks for the offer." she said tiredly. He rolled his eyes, smirking. He opened a drawer underneath one of the cabinets, pulling out a pillow and blanket.

"Then at least get some sleep. Doctor's orders." He said.

"Thanks Will." she yawned, sitting back down in the recliner and laying back, trying in vain to stay awake. Will slowly closed the door, already hearing Reyna's soft, slow breathing.

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Micah felt the intense pain finally starting to subside, able to take in a full breath.

"I grow bored, child; so I'll let you be for now." He voice stated.

"But be warned, Micah; if you dare take up this quest, and try to spit in the face of the almighty, I will make you suffer in ways you could never even imagine." It growled. He could feel the entity "pull away", Micah feeling his consciousness seeping back into his own body, his eyes opening once again. The first thing Micah felt was pain; since his shoulder injury was not a life-or-death wound, his body healed much more normally; though still considerably faster than most. There was still a tiny, golf ball sized hole in his shoulder, but that was covered up by a ton of gauze and put in a sling. Micah tried to recall what had happened; the fight, the monster, then… nothing. He looked over and saw Reyna sleeping peacefully in the recliner.

'What in the world is she doing here? Has she been watching me this whole time?' He wondered to himself. He noticed the blanket on the floor, and saw Reyna shivering a little bit as she was sitting right underneath the air conditioning vent. He picked it up with his good arm, covering her up.

"Thanks, Reyna." He whispered to her, quietly sneaking out the door. It was 2:00 am, and the air was a perfect 55F. He looked around, then started slowly walking towards Half-Blood Hill. After all that had just happened, Micah needed some time to reflect and think. He kept walking straight past the barrier, and out of the camp without a second thought.

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Reyna woke up slowly, and looked around.

'Where am I? Oh, yeah…. sickbay. Wait, crap! I forgot to feed Micah his ambrosia and nectar!' she thought, suddenly wide awake. She threw the blanket off of her, and stood up to…

'He's gone.' she thought calmly, her brain still processing the fact. She shook her head, eyes growing wide. Will walked in just then to check up on him, and was just as shocked as she was.

"Where'd he go?" Will asked, Reyna shaking her head.

"He was gone when I woke up!" She said, worry evident in her voice.

"I'm sure he's fine," Will tried to reason, but didn't sound so sure himself.

"He probably woke up and is somewhere around camp. We'll go look for him" Will promised, Reyna already beginning the search. As she ran, she almost literally ran over Rachel, who had just returned to Camp after one of her works was featured at an Art Expo. Explaining everything to her, Rachel readily agreed to help with the search, the 2 girls looking around camp.

"So, he's pretty cool, huh?" Rachel said after a long silence.

"Who, Micah? Yeah, I guess he's ok." Reyna said nonchalantly. Rachel nodded.

"You goin on 'the quest'?" Rachel asked.

"No, no, I just came to represent Camp Jupiter while Jason and the others were here. No, After they head off on their quest, I'm heading back."

"That sucks." Rachel commented. Reyna shrugged.

"It had its ups and downs." she said worriedly, playing with her hair nervously. Rachel stopped her.

"Hey, we'll find him, Reyna. Don't worry." They walked for about an hour, when they had to turn around and go back. They met up with the rest of the group, none of which had found anything. Reyna was especially worried. She felt as though it was her responsibility to take care of him, since she had elected herself to keep watch. They continued searching all throughout the day. One thing was for sure, Micah was nowhere around or in the camp. Reyna trudged into the Big House slowly. She went into the back room, and laid down to sleep. They had searched all day. Nothing. She barely slept that night, and in the early morning, when the sun was barely coming up, she walked outside and started searching again. She walked up Half-Blood Hill, and looked all around.

'Where did you go?' she thought sorrowfully. She sat down and hugged her head to her knees, gazing out at the road. She had no idea why she cared so much, but she just knew that she did. In the distance, she saw a figure, hobbling towards the hill slowly. She stood up, wiping away tears she didn't know she was crying. She rushed out to meet Micah.

"This place is really easy to get lost in. I was just going -" he was interrupted when she slapped him hard across the face.

"Que rayos!" Micah swore. She then grabbed him in a hug.

"Thearmthearmthearm" Micah said through grit teeth. He held out his good arm, and she softly hugged that side. She then stepped back and slapped the other side of his face.

"FOR REAL!?" he said, completely unprepared for the second slap.

"HOW DARE YOU LEAVE WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING!" she exasperated. Micah scoffed.

"Reyna, I'm 18. I've lived on my own for 10 years. If I want to go for a walk, I don't see what the big…" Reyna shoved him by the chest up against a nearby tree. She pulled out her leg dagger, and slammed it into the tree next to his head. She stared him right in the eyes, daring him to speak.

"Yes ma'am." he chuckled "Next time I'll leave a note." she pulled the dagger out of the tree.

"Good. Now, go take a shower. You stink." she stepped closer and whispered

"And if you ever even DREAM of being stupid like this again, I will take you out back and brand you." With that, she left to tell the others that he was ok, and Micah, for some reason unknown to himself, went and took a shower.


	14. Chapter 14: 1-UP

After Micah had been cleared by Will, he began training with the others, both to make up for lost time and to learn their strengths and weaknesses. He was a little bit rusty, and needed to brush up his swordsmanship. Though the situation was indeed serious, they still laughed and had a good time training. Frank would put Leo in a headlock, making him say 'uncle', Percy and Jason would argue over who was the strongest, Piper and Annabeth breaking up the fight, and they would all spar one another. After a particularly long sparring session, Micah sat down on a nearby log, Percy tossing him a sweat towel. Everyone else got right back to work, but Micah sat there for a little while longer, catching his breath. He suddenly realized someone was sitting next to him, looking over to see Rachel sitting there.

"Red." He greeted, taking a drink from his nearby water bottle. She still couldn't get over his stoic attitude.

"Hey, Mikey; how's the arm?" She asked. She could see his jaw tightening at the nickname, clearly not a fan.

"It's fine. And please don't call me 'Mikey'." He said. Reyna had been walking by, and she raised an eyebrow at the nickname.

"Whatever you say, Mikey." She said aloud, Micah's shoulders dropped,

"Really?" He asked incredulously, Rachel trying desperately not to burst out laughing. For the first time Rachel had seen, Micah smirked a little bit and shook his head as Reyna jogged down to the training grounds, to help prepare the 7 for their quest. Rachel followed his eyes, smirking.

"So… Reyna's nice." She started. Micah already knew where she was going with this, standing up and taking another sip of his water.

"She's a fierce warrior and a valued friend." He agreed, Rachel's smirk deepening.

"And let's not forget she's completely single." She said quietly, Micah looking back at her blankly. He sure did know how to kill a mood. Rachel rolled her eyes, standing up.

"Look, I didn't come here to give you tips on your love life. I came to give you this." She said, holding out the necklace. Micah look curious, shaking his head.

"Rachel… why are you giving me this?" He asked, Rachel raising both of her eyebrows.

"Ever since I started wearing this thing, I've been attracting monsters like a freakin' magnet. And one monster filled quest is plenty for me, thanks." She insisted, looking at the necklace with disgust. Micah reached out, taking the necklace from her. Micah looked back out over at Reyna, watching with a smile as she corrected Leo's footing for the umpteenth time.

"Well, I know one thing; I feel a lot better about this quest knowing that we have people like Reyna and Percy in charge." He admitted, stretching out a little bit. Rachel raised an eyebrow at his comment.

"You mean Reyna hasn't told you yet?" She asked, Micah looking over at her curiously.

"Hasn't told me what?" He asked, Rachel closed her mouth firmly, clearly not wanting to say any more than she already had. Micah's look hardened even more.

"Red… spill it." He said, Rachel finally bursting.

"Fine! Reyna's not going on the quest, ok? She's here as a diplomat; the minute you guys leave for the quest, she's going to go back to Camp Jupiter." She said annoyedly. Micah looked quite shocked… well, quite shocked for him, anyways. For a moment, no one said anything. Micah stood up, placing the necklace around his neck and tucking it into his shirt before walking away without a word. Rachel scoffed, throwing her hands in the air and letting them fall back to her sides.

"Gee, thanks Rachel; you're so helpful." She mimicked Micah, rolling her eyes and walking away. Micah made his way down to the beach once again. Reyna had all of the 7 running back and forth in the sand, to build strength and endurance. She noticed Micah standing right next to him, looking back at the 7.

"When were you going to tell me?" He asked quietly, his calloused voice making him sound much rougher than he actually meant. She sighed, knowing full well what he was talking about.

"I don't know. Probably before we left." She admitted, looking over at him. The 7 were barely dots on the beach as they ran, buying them a little time to talk.

"Look, I don't like this any more than you do, Mikey; but I don't really have a choice. The quest called for the 7 warriors." She said, smirking a little bit when she saw his fist clench.

"We're not calling me that; and the quest said the 7 of old and 3 of new." He corrected. For a moment, Micah could see the hope in her eyes, but it quickly faded as she tempered herself.

"I appreciate the thought, Micah; but there is no way to prove I'm one of the 3 of new." She said. Her voice was firm and practiced; Micah new the tone well. He looked down at the sand, trying to think of something, when he noticed the necklace Rachel had given him had begun to glow. He pulled it out from under his shirt, holding it up. He could feel the tiny, dime sized piece of ruby pulsing as he held it. Curious, he moved it closer to Reyna, who didn't like her personal space being invaded. By then, the others had made their way back and had time to catch their breath, noticing Micah and Reyna.

"Micah, get your hand out of-" Reyna began, but Micah shushed her, shocking everyone.

"Quiet please; I'm working." He said, Reyna more than a little bit annoyed with the way he spoke to her, but for some reason she chose to let it go. Micah moved the necklace away, then closer again. It was clear that whenever it got closer to Reyna, it glowed and pulsed even more.

"Whoa, Rey; I think the necklace likes you." Leo laughed, still catching his breath a little bit. Reyna seemed to just notice, Percy stepping forwards.

"Hey; that ring you're wearing did the same thing when we were searching for you, Micah." He commented, Micah raising an eyebrow.

"Really?" He asked, smirking at Reyna.

"Need any more proof, or will this suffice?" He asked, Reyna looking more excited than ever, but playing it off remarkably well. Micah unhooked the necklace, holding it out to her.

"May I?" He asked, Reyna looking completely opposed, holding out her hand.

"No, I can get it myself." She commanded. Normal demigods would have instantly heeded her orders; she had that kind of influence on people. But Micah just stood there staring her right back, something Reyna was definitely not used to. After a brief stare off caved, groaning and turning around, pulling back her hair.

"Fine." She said angrily, Micah just laughing. He gently reached around her, putting the necklace on her. Reyna was glad she was turned around; no one noticed the slight dusting of red splashed on her cheeks when she felt Micah's arms around her and his breath tickling her neck. She cleared her throat, turning around and placing a hand on her hip, staring at him with mock anger.

"Happy now, Speedy?" She asked, Micah not reacting at all.

"Immensely." He said flatly, turning to the others.

"In case you were wondering, the necklace just made Reyna an official part of the team." He said, Annabeth rolling her eyes.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious; I hadn't noticed." She said, everyone laughing. After a moment, Micah glanced up at the sky, seeing the sun setting.

"Alright, people I think we should call it a night. We need to be up early tomorrow, packed and ready to head out." He said, the others nodding and separating, going towards their cabins. Both Micah and Reyna had a room in the big house; neither one did too well with congested spaces. She they walked neither one said anything, until Micah broke the silence.

"For the record, I'm really glad that you're coming on this quest, Reyna." He admitted quietly, Reyna looking over at him with a tiny smile.

"Yeah, me too." She admitted. She was staying on the same floor as Micah, 2 rooms away. They got ready for bed, and finally got to sleep. Little did they know how much they would need the energy for the days to come.


	15. Chapter 15: Reyna Races Micah

The next morning, Reyna woke up early as usual; 6:00 sharp. She got dressed for the day in her armor, then decided to go outside and get some fresh air. She thought she heard something in the distance, like the rustling of branches. Any normal person would have simply ignored it; chalked it up to an animal or something of the sort, but not Reyna. Her mind was hardwired to be curious at the least, and suspicious at the most. She silently crept her way through the forest, hand on her sword as she went. She came to a clearing, where she saw him; Micah was hanging onto the branch of a tree, doing pull-ups with one arm. She watched as he moved up and down in a slow, rhythmic pace. Reyna counted 50 reps before he hopped down, his thin, sweat soaked shirt clinging to his body, revealing his toned frame. He had obviously been at this for quite some time, huffing a little bit as he caught his breath. After a moment, he called out into the woods.

"You can come out now, Reyna." He said, his back still turned to her as he took a drink from his nearby water bottle. She was completely shocked that he knew she was there, but played it off well as she stepped around a fallen tree and into the clearing. He turned and looked at her, his face completely blank. Reyna was one who prides herself on her ability to read others; facial expressions, tones of voice; she could pick up on practically any sign, no matter how small. But Micah; it was as though he was a blank slate; or perhaps he really was just that good at concealing his emotions.

"How long have you been out here?" She asked, Micah shrugging.

"Probably about an hour? I could ask you the same question." He added, this time actually smirking a little bit. Reyna felt her cheeks beginning to heat up a little bit, but choked the feeling down and forced herself to stay calm.

"I heard you making noise all the way from the Big House; figured you were probably being outmatched by some monster." She said, returning the smirk. Micah actually laughed at that one, grabbing his towel and wiping off his forehead before wrapping it around his shoulders.

"I hope not; been on the run for 10 years, and I'm taken out by some backwoods monster in the most secure Camp on earth? Yikes." He said, taking another drink. Reyna stood there with her hands clasped behind her back, not really knowing what to say. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke up.

"Well… I'll leave you to it then." She said, turning and walking back the way she came. Micah stood there for a moment, before he called to her.

"Hey, Reyna." He said. She turned around to face him curiously.

"Um, so I'm going to take a jog around the beach; Not too much, maybe 20 minutes." He explained, Reyna already catching the innuendo, walking back over.

"Yeah…" She said, prodding him on. He grasped his hands behind his back, looking almost nervous.

"Well, I was wondering if maybe you would…. Wanna join me?" He finally asked. Reyna thought for a moment. She made it a habit of keeping herself in top shape as well, and actually jogged every morning anyways.

"Yeah; sure." She said, walking back out from where she came.

"I'm gonna just go the the Big House and change… can't really jog in my armor." She explained, Micah following her.

"Yeah. Well, I'll wait at the beach; around where we were doing our training." He explained. The 2 parted ways, Reyna walking a bit more quickly towards the House. Her face scrunched in confusion as she walked; she had this odd feeling in her chest; like adrenaline was coursing through her, but for once it wasn't a bad feeling. She quickly got changed into her workout clothes and made her way to the beach, finding Micah standing there with his hands on his hips, watching the sun as it rose over the ocean. When he noticed her, he turned and actually halfway smiled. The 2 began silently jogging next to each other down the beach.

"So, you nervous about this whole quest thing?" He asked as they ran. Reyna glanced over at him, then focused ahead once again.

"A bit; though we don't really even know where we are going or what we are doing." She said, Micah nodding.

"Yeah… I just hope it's nothing too apocalyptic." He admitted. The 2 talked a little bit about their training regimens, and about their diet practices. It wasn't long before everyone else was up, Percy making his way down to the beach as he always did, spotting them.

"Whoa, you 2 are up early. Geez, you're making me look bad." He laughed, gesturing to the 2005 Chevy 3500 that was parked up near the Big House.

"Hey, the van's here; we've all got our stuff packed if you guys are ready to roll." He informed, making his way back up to the van. Micah stopped, putting his hands on his hips and trying to slow his breathing. Reyna smirked at him, also huffing a little bit.

"Geez, Speedy; for a guy whose power is running at the speed of light, you sure are heaving." She laughed, Micah smirking and standing upright.

"When I'm running, it's totally different than when I'm _running_." He explained. She looked completely lost, Micah sighing.

"I mean, it's like… Well it's hard to explain; I'll have to show you what I mean sometime." He stated, finally catching his breath. Reyna raised an eyebrow at him; she hated not knowing things; it got under her skin almost as much as Annabeth.

"Why not now?" She asked, Micah looking over at her confusedly. After a moment, he shrugged holding out his hand to her.

"Alright." He said, waiting. She realized he wanted her to take his hand, her cheeks again trying their hardest to turn red, but Reyna refusing to allow it. She reached out slowly, taking his hand, and hoping no one was watching. The moment she touched his hand, everything around her slowed down to the point where it looked like nothing was moving at all. She could see a fly, it's wings frozen mid- flap. She could see the same blue-purple light Micah gave off when he ran, swirling all around them like a kakun of color. She could feel a foreign energy coursing through her body; like adrenaline times 1000. She felt like she was literally energized

"Whoa, I… wow." She said, completely floored. Micah looked around shrugging.

"This is why I was having a bit of trouble explaining it." He admitted, Reyna nodding.

"I get it; this is incredible. You see things like this all the time?" She asked, looking up at him. Micah shook his head.

"No, only when I summon the energy." He said, gesturing to the light surrounding them. Reyna reached out, running her fingers through the light. The moment she touched it, it turned a bright scarlet red, flowing between her fingers. The ruby color began circling them along with the blue-purple, the 2 intertwining. She looked over at Micah curiously, but he looked just as stumped as she was.

"Is this normal?" She asked, Micah shaking his head, clearly stumped.

"No idea; this is the first time I've ever tried sharing the energy with anyone." He admitted. Reyna couldn't help but feel that same feeling rise in her chest; she felt… special. He looked over at her, actually smirking.

"You wanna see what it feels like to run?" He asked. She was honestly wanting to ask him if she could; all this energy felt pent-up just standing there; like it needed to go somewhere.

"Yeah, sure." She said, smiling back at him brightly. Still holding her hand, he turned around, pointing down the beach with his other hand.

"We'll run down and back." He said, turning back to the fly.

"You see it's wings? How they look frozen?" He asked, Reyna nodding.

"Well, they're actually moving; just so slowly that we can't actually see them. Now, remember where the wings are positioned." He said, Reyna nodded, turning and facing the same direction as him.

"You think you can keep up?" He smirked, his eyes glowing a blue-purple ever so slightly. She could see that the energy was actually flowing through him. She smirked right back, scoffing.

"Now that we're on an even playing field, I just hope you can keep up." She admitted, Micah laughing. They took off down the beach, their hands still clasped. Reyna had never felt anything like this in her entire life; the closest description she could give was it felt like how you would imagine walking on the moon would be; near weightless, like gravity had been turned down. She felt the red light energy all around her; propelling her forward and fueling her as she ran. Before she knew it they were at the end of the beach, skidding to a halt. They turned and went back, Reyna still not feeling any effect at all; no heaving or huffing, no sweating; nothing. And they had just dead sprinted the whole way. They walked back over the same fly, it's wings had barely even moved. Reyna didn't even notice she was smiling brightly as they stood there, Reyna basking in the afterglow.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Micah asked, Reyna looking over at him.

"That was incredible!" She exclaimed, then calmed herself down.

"Yeah… thanks." She said, this time unable to hide the blush rising in her cheeks. Micah smiled at her, looking down at their hands.

"It's gonna feel a little weird when I let go." He warned, Reyna nodding. Micah slowly released her hand, and the minute he let go she felt the energy drain from out of her. It was almost disappointing and depressing; that warm, fuzzy, electric feeling suddenly gone. Reyna suddenly felt her stomach growl louder than it ever had in her entire life, and she felt a little bit light headed. Micah vanished, suddenly reappearing with an odd looking protein bar.

"Eat this. Your body just burned through a ton of calories; you're gonna feel really hungry for a while until your metabolism goes back to normal." He explained, Reyna taking the bar and ripping it open, taking a bite and sighing.

"Wow, these are really good." She said, the dizzy feeling vanishing, replaced only by hunger. Micah knew that look; it was the same one he always had after running.

"Let's go to the Dining Hall and get some food." He suggested, Reyna nodding vigorously as the 2 headed up there together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Everyone in the entire Hall watched in shock and horror as Micah and Reyna both ate obscene amounts of food. All together, they had downed over 40 plated of bacon, eggs, and pancakes with syrup. Reyna finally felt stuffed, Micah continuing to eat. He looked up at her, his face back to the usual blank and stoic look; though Reyna could see the tiny smirk teasing at the corners of his mouth.

"Looks like your metabolism's back to normal. You should feel normal." He said, Reyna nodding. She felt the exact same as she always did, which now made her feel like she was missing something. She ignored the feeling, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"Was that really the first time you ever shared your power?" She asked. Micah nodded slowly, looking up.

"Yeah. That energy you felt; part of it comes from inside me." He explained. She could have sworn his cheeks turned the slightest bit red, but dismissed the thought. Micah swallowed another piece of bacon, continuing.

"It's a very… personal thing. I was only going to share it with someone I could trust… and I have trust issues." He admitted. He finished his final plate, standing up and putting it in the pile before making his way to the door, Reyna following.

"And… you trust me?" She asked, feeling warm inside once again. He nodded, looking over at her with a smirk.

"Yeah, I trust you." He said quietly, before Speeding off towards the Big House, leaving Reyna there to absorb everything that had happened.


	16. Chapter 16: Roadtrippin'

Micah got his bags, taking them outside and placing his stuff next to the others. He was honestly more nervous than he had been in quite a long time. He had been in a lot of tough spots in his life, but never anything like this; if the gods were afraid of this 'primordial power', Micah knew that it had to be pretty serious. He was deep in thought even as the rest of the team made their way over to the van. Leo stopped in front of it, looking confused.

"So, let me get this straight;" He began, looking at the others.

"We are the Demigod Dream Team, tasked with stopping a powerful primordial power and saving the known world… and we're travelling around in a giant van like a bunch of preschool kids going on a field trip?" He asked, Frank patting him on the shoulder.

"Sounds about right, huh?" He asked, Leo whining.

"Come on; can't we once take on the end of the world in style?" He complained. Micah loaded all of their things into the car in a split second, Reyna watching as he did. At those speeds, Micah looked like nothing more than a blur of light, but Reyna now knew better. It was almost as though she felt a part of her was missing when she watched the beautiful purple-blue blur speed by. A split second later, Micah was in the back of the van, having used his speed to claim his seat in the very last row, next to the window. Reyna quickly climbed in as well, sitting right next to him. Everyone else got into the van as well; Jason and Piper, then Percy and Annabeth, Frank and Hazel. Argus climbed into the driver's seat.

For a little while, the van was completely silent, but that didn't last very long, Leo turning around in his seat and looking over at Micah curiously.

"So, how long have you been at Camp anyways, Micah?" He asked.

"2 weeks." He replied. They could all tell by the tone in his voice that Micah didn't like where this conversation was going; all but Leo.

"So, you're a Camp Jupiter kid?" He asked. Micah simply shook his head.

"Never been there. Half-Blood is the first demigod camp I've ever seen." Micah admitted. Leo seemed even more confused the more questions Micah answered.

"But aren't demigods supposed to go to Camp when they turn 13?" He asked, looking over at Percy, who nodded in affirmation.

"Uh, yeah… most of them do. When they turn 13 is when their demigod scent gets much more powerful." Leo looked back at Micah like he was some kind of machine to fix.

"Wow, you made it a long time outside of Camp there, Speedy. How'd your parents even manage to hide you from the monsters that long?" Leo asked. Micah shifted a bit in his seat, making it even more obvious that he didn't want to talk about this.

"It's been just me since I can remember." He said quietly. Part of him hoped that Leo didn't hear him, but judging by the dumbfounded look on his face, it was clear that he had.

"Oh… I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't know." Leo said quietly. Micah took in a deep breath, shaking his head.

"It's fine. No way you could have known." He forgave quietly, hoping that they would just let things drop, but Micah wasn't so lucky.

"You really don't remember anything about them?" Hazel asked. With her soft voice and timid demeanor, it made it virtually impossible to be mad at her for anything. Micah shrugged, looking over to her blankly.

"I remember my mom a little bit... but that's before she died." He answered as he quickly averted his gaze out his window. Hazel looked shocked and saddened all at once.

"Well… where did you live? Who took care of you?" She asked. Reyna looked over at Micah, curious herself to hear his answer. Like so many other times, his face was completely unreadable; a nearly expressionless blank stare on his face.

"I took care of me." He answered quickly, before pausing a moment to calm himself.

"And I lived… pretty much everywhere. When you can run at mach speeds and are being chased by horrifying monsters, you tend to travel around a lot." He admitted, still gazing out of his window. Just when Micah thought he was in for another round of questions, Annabeth interrupted the questions.

"Guys, check this out." She said, turning the volume on her laptop all the way up. They all crowded around her screen as the video played.

"... The pandemonium continues as cases of seemingly spontaneous madness continue to spread through the West coast. Medical professionals are still unsure just what exactly is causing people to completely lose their sanity, but they say that they are close to finding out. I'm Paige Southerland, Channel 5 News." The reporter ended.

"Doesn't have to be related to our quest, right? I mean, anything could have caused a bunch of people to completely lose their marbles, right?" Leo reasoned to no avail.

"It has to be the work of the Primordial the prophecy spoke of." Percy stated firmly, his jaw clenching a bit. Micah looked over curiously.

"Primordial… what exactly does that mean?" He questioned.

"The Primordials. Gaea, Tartarus, Eros, Erebus and Nyx. They together created the physical realm, and parented the Titans, which, in turn parented the gods." Annabeth explained. Micah sighed, shaking his head.

"Of course it's the creators of the freakin' universe… cause why not." He said sarcastically.

"We already kicked Gaea's behind, so she's of the picture." Leo stated confidently. Micah looked over at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Hurrah. That leaves 4 others who are just as powerful as Mother Earth out there." Micah stated.

"The question is which one is it? Which one is being prophesied?" Jason asked.

"Who's to say it's just one?" Micah stated aloud. The others had a shared look of horror as realization hit. They barely handled one Primordial, what about 2? Or 3 or all of them for that matter.

"We can't afford to think that way, guys. Let's just focus on the task at hand. One step at a time." Reyna commented. They all nodded, then went back to sitting in silence, Micah twirling his ring, thinking.

"Something tells me that it wasn't exactly a walk in the park defeating Mother Earth." Micah commented, Percy nodding.

"It wasn't. That kind of raw power… it was too close." He finished. Percy realized how bleak he sounded, trying to force a smile.

"But in the end, we got the job done. And this time we've got you." He added, Micah almost smiling.

"I'm no hero, Percy." he replied, still twisting the ring on his finger. Micah looked out the window, watching as the scenery of the interstate passing by.

"Ugggh! How far is it?" Leo whined. Without warning, Micah opened the door and stepped out. A purple streak flew out of sight, and in a split second came back, Micah stepping back into the moving van.

"About 43 hours away. If were driving this thing the whole way." Micah said dryly, clearly not into the idea of being stuck in the car that long. Reyna could sense the air of impatience around him; he wasn't used to waiting for anything. Micah reached into his sweatshirt, pulling out a bag of chips and a 2 liter of Coke, opening it and taking a drink straight from the bottle.

"Where did you…" Reyna started.

"I made a couple of stops on the way," he replied, opening the bag of chips and slumping back in his seat. "That's why it took so long." He finished. For a moment, no one said anything, until Leo started moving around in his seat.

"Um…. Guys…" He started. He was wiggling all around, squeezing his legs shut.

"Leo needs to drain the ol' bladder." Annabeth sighed, and looked around.

"Argus, could we please stop at that McDonald's?" She asked. He nodded, and pulled off the highway and into the restaurant's parking lot. Leo took off inside, while the others figured out what they wanted to order as they piled out of the van, stretching and trying to get the feeling back into their legs. Micah seemed to glare at the building suspiciously. Annabeth noticed and stood next to him.

"Something wrong?" she asked. His gaze never left the building.

"Something isn't right with this place." he said quietly. Annabeth smiled, scoffing and rolling her eyes.

"Dude, It's McDonald's. Chill." He looked her dead in the eyes.

"You know how many times I would have died if I 'chilled' when I got a bad feeling?" He questioned. The lack of emotion in his voice made him sound angrier than he actually was, and was quite unsettling. "Trust me, I know when something isn't right… and there's something about this place I don't like. Don't let your guard down, Blondie." he commanded, walking into the building. Annabeth just scoffed annoyedly, glaring at him as he threw the door open. Percy walked over and threw his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close.

"Give him time. We can't even imagine what he has seen to make him so paranoid. He'll come around." Percy reassured. The rest of the 9 walked in, and got in line to place their orders. Micah looked around. He could feel something just wasn't right. They had no idea what inexplicable evil was lurking just around the corner.


	17. Chapter 17: Big Mac Attack

**Big Mac Attack**

Micah starred at a poster of the McDonald's mascot: Ronald McDonald.

'I HATE clowns…' he gripped to himself. Ever since he could remember, he had hated clowns. They were creepy dudes who wore makeup and pulled their pants down for public 'entertainment'. What's not to love, right? That added with the fact that he had had a run in with a cyclops who disguised himself as a clown a long time ago made Micah more than a little off set.

"Hey, Micah. You ok?" Jason asked.

"Fine." He lied, looking over down the hallway. "I'm gonna go use the restroom." He said, walking down the hall.

"Hey, what did you want? We're getting some food for the road." Jason said.

"Number 14." Micah replied without turning around. Jason looked up at the menu; the Number 14 was the family box.

"The whole BOX?!" Jason asked in shock. Micah simply nodded. He opened the door and stepped in, walking to the sink and splasing his face with cold water as he stared in the mirror. There was tons of graffiti all over it; things like 'I kissed Jared', and '#cholesterol'. Micah got that same funny feeling down in the pit of his gut; something wasn't right.

'Didn't Leo say he was using the bathroom?" He wondered. The stall doors were both wide open, and Leo was nowhere to be seen. Micah rushed out of the bathroom to find the rest of the group standing there and waiting.

"Guys, where's Leo?" Micah questioned. They looked around, just realizing their lack of numbers.

"I don't know, I thought he was in the bathroom." Percy commented. The boys looked at each other, and headed to the bathroom once again, the girls waiting by the door. Micah walked to the far stall. Empty. Frank, Jason, and Percy all looked around for any sign of him. Micah looked at the stall door, and saw tiny Greek letters scrawled into it.

'Τραβήξατε τη λαβή'. Micah pulled the handle of the toilet out, and it flipped up, revealing a hidden shaft that led under the store. Percy and Frank both walked over, seeing the secret passage. Percy walked over to the door, opening it and gesturing to Annabeth.

"You're gonna want to see this." Percy said, the girls reluctantly stepping into the already crowded bathroom. Percy uncapped Riptide, Micah looking over at Annabeth.

"Just a McDonald's?" He asked in the same, annoyingly monotone voice. She didn't even have time to respond before Percy broke it up.

"We need to find Leo. Whatever it is must have taken him down there." He said quietly, the others nodding. They slowly descended into the pit, the toilet slamming back down overtop of the hole, leaving them all in complete darkness. Micah pulled off Δήμιος, its purple glow mixing with Jason's golden spears and Riptides feint bronze, lighting the tunnel.

"Well, this isn't creepy at all" Micah commented.

"Cant even go to McDs like normal people." Jason agreed. They walked until they found themselves in a large opening, staring at what looked like a factory setup of some kind. There were conveyor belts all over, and lifeless looking humanoid creatures manning each, packaging what looked to be weapons and armor.

"What IS this place?" Percy questioned. They all looked at one another, but no one had any ideas. One of the creatures looked up, so the 8 ducked behind an unmanned machine Percy looked over to Micah.

"Micah, recon. I want Leo found ASAP." Percy whispered. Micah nodded, then vanished. He came back in an instant.

"He's up there." Micah pointed to what looked like a tiny watchtower.

"Heavily guarded. I could barely sneak past. These guards aren't human. Definitely monsters."

"Ok, here's the plan. We are going to…." Annabeth started. Suddenly, one of the creatures reached around the machine and grabbed her. She instinctively stabbed it in its hand with her dagger, instantly cursing in greek. That attracted the attention of the rest of the monsters that were on the floor. They stepped out from their hiding place, and readied themselves to attack. They monsters advanced, moving much like your typical stereotype movie zombies. The 8 easily cut down the advancing onslaught, ducking, slashing, and speeding their way around the horde. But more kept coming.

"This isn't working. I'll go grab Leo; we need to get out of here. Now." Micah demanded, the tone in his voice making it clear it wasn't up for debate.

"Agreed. Go get him and meet us at the hallway!" Percy yelled across the room, as he cababed another creature.

"GUYS FALL BACK TO THE ENTRANCE!" He yelled, and the other 7 slowly fought their way backwards. Micah appeared in front of the tiny room Leo was trapped in. The only problem was they it was locked by a 4 digit electronic lock. Micah groaned out in frustration.

"We don't have TIME for this!" he yelled. He started pressing every possible combination with lightning speed, until after a moment, a buzzer sounded, and Micah threw the door open. Leo was bound and chained to the far wall. Micah broke the chains, and threw his arm around Leo.

"You like roller coasters?" Micah asked out-of-the-blue.

"Oh nooo. They make me pukey." Leo groaned. Micah sighed, then put his hand on the back of Leo's neck.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked nervously. Micah shrugged.

"Keeping your neck from breaking." He replied.

"Hey…. That was from that X-men movie; Days of Future…." Leo began. He never finishedas Micah took off towards the exit. In a nanosecond, they were with the rest of the group. Micah let Leo go, who then staggered around and braced himself on the cave wall.

"Yo…. Percay… baaaad news, bruh…" he said queasily.

"Leo! Alright I'm glad you're ok!" Jason smiled, driving his spear through the heart of one of the little beasts.

"Guys we've gotta get out of here NOW! Before HE gets back!" Leo screamed.

"He? He who?" Annabeth questioned. Suddenly the fighting stopped. A slow, dramatic clapping could be heard from the back of the horde, along with the familiar squeaking of oversized shoes on the floor.

"Well, well well….. What could we have here?" Its voice sounded like an unholy union of helium and a cheese grater. The group just stared, slack jawed.

"Is that…" Jason started

"Oh yeah." Leo said unenthusiastically.

"What the…." Hazel commented

"You've GOT to be kidding me." Reyna said flatly. For standing right in front of them was the monster that had lured them into this little trap. That monster…. was Ronald McDonald.


End file.
